The Right Guy
by eskamobob21
Summary: Sequal to "The Right School". Mihashi and Abe are a couple. However, there's a few things left undone that could undo their relationship. Love comes, love goes, and lives go on. AbexMiha and others. Rated M to be safe some yaoi-ish stuff soon to come.
1. Chapter 1

Well, I decided to go with a sequel. I don't know how long it'll be but I have a few ideas. I hope you guys like it. I do warn there's a bit of fluff and this whole story'll rates as more mature than my previous. There's more yaoi-ish stuff and possibly some mild hentai too.

Enjoy.

Disc: I don't own Oofuri but, well, I'd like to. Christmas gift anyone?

**Chapter 1**

They were a couple. It wasn't facebook official but close enough. Everyone Abe cared about, that is the Nishiura baseball team, Aizawa-chan, and Hikari-chan, knew and were with some difficulty accepting of the relationship between their catcher and pitcher. After all Mihashi and Abe were a battery and had to be close. As Abe thought about how happy he was that everyone he cared about knew he felt a stab of guilt. He loved his parents, but still he kept their relationship in the dark. Both Abe and Mihashi had agreed that this would be their standard practice with everyone who wasn't in the know. But Abe still felt bad. They were good people, but deep down Abe didn't know how the older couple would react. Shun didn't know either, but Abe had a feeling that his little brother wouldn't care either way.

When he and Mihashi were at school things became tough for the two. Despite not being in the same class the secret couple was always together. Not a word was said by anyone on the team, and for all Abe knew nobody in their growing circle of friends knew, not even someone as close as Hamada. Yet no matter how close the couple was at school it was still difficult for them. Having to hold back, not being able to do more than a quick pat on the back was torture. Every day at lunch Abe came to the 1-9 classroom and sat on Mihashi's desk, a custom that was quickly accepted by the class. But being so close to the pitcher pained Abe. He was close, so close yet he had to resist every day.

Then when Abe had to go back to his class all he could think about was the touch of Mihashi's skin, the soft flesh of the pitcher's lips, the warm embrace of his lover's arms. Being in love with Mihashi was heaven because he could see the boy every day, yet hell because he had to keep his hands off.

In school at least.

If Abe did anything outside of school Mihashi was always with him. Everything was simply more fun for Abe if Mihashi was there. The team, Shinooka, and Aizawa hung out together a lot, practically every weekend when not practicing, but Abe and Mihashi always found their alone time together. Granted most of the time it was on the chilly winter nights after practice, or in the frigid hour during their morning pitching. But somehow some time they were always alone and always ended their "dates" with a kiss.

Abe gave a shudder. Simply remembering the feel of Mihashi's kisses was enough to arouse the catcher. But now was not quite the place. School had started up a month ago and the new semester was thoroughly underway. The excitement associated with the reopening of school soon died away as Valentine's Day crept closer. In the 1-3 classroom all Abe heard between classes was what girl was getting or making chocolate for whom. At first the catcher took amusement with the occasion. With the success of the baseball team came a whole new group of admirers each vying for the attention of one of the players. In the beginning Abe felt overly possessive of Mihashi, giving a distinct evil eye to anyone he saw eying the still rather timid pitcher.

But Abe's fury was soon curbed by Izumi, who took Abe aside during lunch one day. "You gotta calm down Abe," the speed demon said.

Abe glared at the smaller teen. Izumi was a great friend, but this was Mihashi he was worrying about. "You wouldn't understand," Abe replied tersely. "Look at the way those floozies are eying him. Like he's some sort of trophy."

"We've become pretty popular," Izumi commented, "and he is the pitcher."

"That doesn't mean anything," Abe scoffed.

"Kosi-kun's right," a female voice chimed in. Abe didn't have to look over to know it was Aizawa. She and Izumi had become just as inseparable as he and Mihashi. "Trust me. I use to get the same feeling when the other girls eyed my man." By this time the busty girl had wrapped her arms around her boyfriend possessively.

"True," Abe conceded, "but you can claim him publicly. Everyone in the whole school knows that you two are going out. But look at me and Mihashi. I can't do what you two do in public, hell I don't know how you two can do it but you do. If I were to even hug Mihashi people would start talking. Frankly I don't really care but I'm just worried about how Mihashi would take it."

"Then don't do it Abe-kun," Aizawa said frankly.

Abe let out a soft sigh. "Either way it doesn't help me. I can't claim him publicly, but if I don't then those hussies'll be all over him."

"Have you talked to him privately?" Izumi said.

"Good idea Kosi-kun!" Aizawa squealed before giving her boyfriend a kiss on the cheek, turning Izumi's cheeks deep scarlet. "I doubt that Mihashi-kun'll be swayed by some chick's chocolate, no matter how good it may be. But if it'll make you feel any better just tell him how you feel."

Abe thought it over. Aizawa did have a point, but there was one thing she was missing. "I want to talk to him, but I don't want him to worry about it. He has come a long way, even since the end of the season. But you guys know Mihashi; he'll worry about anything, especially if it worries me. I still want him to make friends outside the baseball club. And if I tell him that I have a problem with the other girls flirting with him then he'll probably stop talking to them all together. I don't want that. I…I just want to make sure he knows he's mine, I guess."

Aizawa started chuckling. "And you said that _we_ were the perverted ones."

The bell signaling the end of lunch rang cutting off Abe's retort. Instead of a witty comeback he simply said, "I gotta get going. Thanks for the help you two. I'll try to think of something on my own. Please don't mention this to Mihashi at all. I don't want him to think of it as his fault.

All the way back to the 1-3 classroom Abe kept turning over ideas in his head. Every now and then he'd come up with a good way to voice his concern but then realized he was going to be talking to Mihashi and after trying to reword his worries mental conversation had lost all its meaning.

But the more Abe thought about what he would say to Mihashi the more Abe thought about the pitcher. And once Abe's mind turned to the pitcher all he could think of were the dirty thoughts that typically occupied a teenager's mind; which brought the catcher to his current predicament.

Abe tried to rid his mind of Mihashi, for the time being. A classroom was no place to have an erection, at least not if he could help it. So instead of thinking about Mihashi Abe decided to watch the circle of girls surrounding Hanai's desk. Since the tournament ended the steely eyed catcher noticed more and more the amount of girls who more than casually turned their gaze to the baseball club's captain. Strictly speaking from a gay's point of view Hanai was turning into quite the man. He was developing nicely from all of the weightlifting and conditioning the team did. And his natural domineering personality and confidence was enough to turn the captain into a sought after commodity amongst the pubescent girls.

Even without listening Abe knew exactly what the conversation would be between Hanai and his fangirls. Day after day they vied for his attention by asking him tons of pointless questions. Since Valentine's Day was nearing the topic had turned to what kind of girl Hanai liked and what kind of chocolate he preferred. Watching the taller teen struggle under the company of his flock of admirers was always a sure fire way to cheer Abe up. So instead of reading over the notes for his next class Abe busied himself with silently laughing at the captain.

Sure it was kind of cruel for Abe to laugh at Hanai as he struggled to handle the gaggle of girls but he sort of asked it on himself. Abe too had the same sort of problem early on. But since he realized he loved Mihashi there was nobody else in Abe's eyes but the honey blond pitcher. The onset of lover's holiday had rekindled the interest some of the girls had in the catcher and at first they were problematic. But all too soon Abe realized that by simply being himself, at least his old prickly and rather snide self the girls soon shied away. Granted it didn't change their opinion of the "cool catcher" but at least they didn't bother him. Time and again Abe encouraged the captain to follow Abe's example but he refused. Abe wanted to make fun of the right fielder for it but he could also rationalize with Hanai's position: Abe already found his soul mate while Hanai hadn't.

Soon enough Hanai became too pitiful to watch much longer leaving Abe with his standard backup of watching the second hand on the clock tick away towards the end of school and freedom.

It was closer than Abe thought to the end of school. Six simple rotations around the face of the clock. 360 little clicks and school would be out and finally he could see Mihashi's face. Granted they still had indoor practice, but the break between school and practice was always looked forward to. Whether Abe and Mihashi were in the library studying, in Shiga-sensei's classroom having a team meeting, or simply hanging out killing time they were at least together. Those meetings, always too short, were paradise. It was like Mihashi emitted some kind of Eden-aura that placated every nerve in Abe's body and melted away the day's stress.

The catcher peered back up at the clock. The skinny had had only moved thirty clicks closer to freedom. Abe let out a quiet sigh. He knew that the longer he stared at the clock's face the slower time would pass, but there was nothing else to do.

A small "um, Abe-kun?" from the right startled the catcher. It was a female's voice, one he was not particularly familiar with. It was shy, which cut out the usual riffraff and hussies that tried to play for his attention. The voice was quiet and shaking slightly, giving off the general feeling of nervousness.

He knew he would feel bad answering in his typical gruff tone, but Abe decided not to play any favorites with his female admirers so nobody would get the wrong impression. "Yes?" He said plainly without even looking at who it was that talking to him.

"Y-you're on the baseball team, right?" The girl asked.

Again he sighed. Here was another girl going after him because he was on the fabled "first year fantasy team" of Nishiura high. "Yes," Abe replied again, this time turning to actually see who was speaking.

She was cute. Plain and simply she was cute. Not a girl destined to be an idol but not some trashy I-think-I-look-good-but-really-don't bimbo. She didn't stick out in Abe's mind at all, which made him instantly recognize her. She hardly ever spoke out in class yet wasn't exactly a loner. She had some friends, had respectable grades, and never did anything to make her self stand out. But Abe knew her, or at least of her. This girl was Sakuma Elizabeth and what made her stand out in Abe's mind was her flowing bright silver blond hair that cascaded like a waterfall over her back and down to her hips.

Once he recognized who it was he was speaking to Abe felt a little bad addressing her so bluntly. He could tell by the look on her face that she was taken aback with the way he addressed her and he could hear it in her voice. "Sorry," she apologized, "I didn't know you were busy."

As quickly as she had come she turned away, trying to leave without making any sort of scene. Instantly the steely eyed catcher felt terrible, like he had just kicked a sleeping cat that had done nothing to him. "Wait, Sakuma-san," he said in a more pleasant voice while catching her by the arm. "I'm sorry. Can I help you with something?"

Hearing Abe apologize seemed to give the silver blond back some of her confidence. "Um, a-Abe-kun, y-you're on the b-baseball team, right?" She repeated.

"Yes," Abe also repeated, but with more compassion.

"Then, um, well…" she stumbled. "Um, then, do you know Su…Su…" Sakuma Elizabeth trailed off.

"Who?" Abe asked confused.

"Su," she mumbled, "Suyama-kun," she finished in a whisper and deep blush.

Relief surged through his body. Abe was happy that she wasn't trying to pick up him, Mihashi, or Izumi. Everyone else on the team was fair game; and if asked Abe would gladly do all he could to help his teammates find the same bliss he and his beautiful pitcher had. "Suyama?" He clarified. "Yeah, he's the short stop. What do you need?" The blushing blond buried her face in her hands. Abe could tell she was embarrassed but for the life of him he couldn't tell why. It was just Suyama. He was a normal guy just like anyone; so what did she find so difficult in asking about him?

Abe glanced back up at the clock as he waited for her to answer. There was only four minutes left until the end of school, a fact that excited the catcher. Slowly his mind started to drift back to a certain person in the 1-9 classroom. "I," she said, breaking the trance the mental image of Mihashi had on Abe. "I, want to know…" she trailed off.

Normally Abe would have been mad at something like this. She was annoying and wasting his time. But despite that she reminded the catcher of someone. The way Sakuma mumbled and her shy act both resembled what Mihashi use to do, and instead of getting mad or upset at her for what used to piss the catcher off he simply put on a faint smile and waited.

"What kind of chocolate does he like?"

Her whisper was barely enough for Abe to hear, but once he understood what she was saying his fait smile broadened into a wide grin. "So you like Suyama?" Abe asked through the grin.

"Ye…ye…" she stumbled, tripping over the word. "I, I," she started again. "I, I'm sorry!" She squeaked before hastily walking away.

The catcher was left there a little stunned. Had he done anything wrong? He didn't think so but yet Sakuma apparently did. But either way he knew two things. First was that she liked the short stop, and second was he would do all he possibly could to help her confess to Suyama. Abe didn't mind Sakuma. She was pretty smart, wasn't obnoxious, and was kind of cute. So in order for Abe to play matchmaker he had to start with Sakuma Elizabeth first. She hadn't waited to hear what Suyama preferred, and to be honest Abe himself didn't quite know. Chocolate preference was not a topic of conversation that came up often. Or at all for that matter. However, it was no secret that Suyama had a passion for strawberries that bordered on fanaticism.

One more glance at the clock told the steely eyed teen that he had only a minute left before class was dismissed. Quickly Abe tore a scrap piece of paper from his notebook, making sure not to tear out any of the doodles he drew of himself and Mihashi, and set to work. In his scrawling handwriting Abe wrote a quick message for what he hoped to be his teammate's future girlfriend. _Suyama Shojo,_ Abe wrote, _class: 1-2, favorite food: strawberries and anything strawberry flavored._ After writing the note Abe once again looked up at the clock. He had finished with 20 seconds to spare. As quickly as he could Abe packed up all of this class stuff and when the bell rang he made his way over to the door.

Sakuma Elizabeth was still at her desk, her face diverted away from the rest of the class. Instantly Abe knew she was still embarrassed. So instead of calling her name to give her the note he simply dropped it on her desk, pausing when he saw her recognize the new piece of paper. When the blushing blond student swept the room looking for the origin of the paper Abe caught her eye. "This should help," he muttered in a soft voice before exiting the classroom.

Abe was relieved and happy that he could help out what he hoped to be a future relationship. His smug grin was instantly recognized by his teammates as one by one they met up in the first year hallway before heading to the weight room. When Mihashi joined the group Abe floated to the honey blond pitcher, feeling the gravity of the smaller boy pull him in. When he got there the two did their typical public greeting of Abe giving Mihashi a squeeze on the shoulder and whispered "love you" quietly. Once done Mihashi always "surprisingly" grabbed the hand on his shoulder and gave it a squeeze in return.

When his typical routine was done Abe eyed Suyama, who was walking just behind Sakaeguchi and Nishihiro listening to their conversation. The steely eyed catcher knew that Suyama and Sakuma would be good together. Both were relatively quiet and reserved, but they bother were pretty smart as well. Abe knew deep in his gut that they would find many things in common.

But their similarities also worried Abe. Suyama and Sakuma were a lot alike; but on the Nishiura baseball team it seemed like opposites attracted more than anything. There was the couple of himself, the level headed analytical catcher and Mihashi, the timid teen whose fluctuating emotions were enough to confuse the hell out of any onlookers. But there was also the quiet Izumi with the face of a baby and the loud Aizawa with the chest of a supermodel. Given the pattern, it was against the odds for two people so similar like Suyama and Sakuma to go out with each other.

Suyama saw Abe looking at him and smiling a rather smug grin. "Abe, what's up?" He asked, hoping that the awkward feeling that clawed at his stomach would go away.

"Nothin' Suyama," Abe replied nonchalantly.

Despite his answer Abe kept looking at Suyama with the same grin. "You need anything Abe?" Suyama asked.

Abe gave a small chuckle. "Nope," the catcher said in a carefree voice. "But I know someone who's going to get an awesome surprise on V-day."

The mention of Valentine's Day got the team wondering, especially when Suyama was involved. Everyone knew that people like Tajima and Hanai, those who stood out on the team, would be getting tons of chocolate on the 14th. But others like Oki and Suyama knew that their own loads would be drastically smaller. They weren't the best baseball players and never stood out that much on the field. Granted they did share the same celebrity that simply being on the baseball team gave them. But their own personalities and shy tendencies held them back from being stand outs. So Abe's news of someone like Suyama getting a surprise worth mentioning was more interesting than any humdrum conversation anyone could have thought up.

"What is it?" Suyama asked, curiosity resonating in his deep voice.

The smug grin Abe wore stretched from a comfortable superiority to the point of arrogance. "Now if I told you it wouldn't be a surprise would it?"

"Oh, that's just mean," Oki said with a laugh.

"But it's more humorous that way," Nishihiro commented.

"Shut up you turtle," Suyama mumbled at Nishihiro. The scrappy shortstop then turned to the catcher and tried giving him an evil stare but ended up smiling despite himself. "Just remember this Abe, if I don't like the surprise then you're dead."

Abe saw the humor in Suyama's eyes and decided to play along. "Mihashi did you hear that," he whined in a playful voice before turning to the pitcher. "Big bad Suyama's gonna hurt me. Save me."

Mihashi got the humor and played along as well. "Don't come to me for protection. You brought this on yourself. Besides, do you think I could save you?"

The ten teammates continued their joking and joshing until it was time for conditioning. Due to the cold weather they were still forced inside but that suited them well. They spent the first part of their practice in the weight room lifting weights until it an hour had passed since the end of school, signaling to the ten teens it was time to run long halls through the school to build endurance.

At the end of the day all ten were hot, sweaty, and in good spirits. They were the only ones in their section of the locker room, a room they shared with the general PE classes due to the novelty of the baseball club and the lack of a functioning club room larger than a storage closet. But since they were the only team to use the room besides the actual class once school ended the baseball club had it all to themselves.

"Mihashi," Abe cooed while everyone was in the locker room after practice. "Good job today." While Mihashi still faced his locker Abe wrapped his arms around the smaller honey blond teen's chest, pulling him into a tight embrace. As they sat there for a second Abe inhaled deeply. He loved the scent Mihashi gave off after working out. There was something about the pitcher's scent after working out that drove Abe crazy; like the pitcher's pheromones were not only the keys to Abe's libido but like an addiction he just couldn't quit. Both teens stood, Abe spooning Mihashi's shirtless back while they both stood.

As the seconds ticked around them Abe's hands started to wander up Mihashi's naked chest. Abe loved the feeling of Mihashi's cut body. The pitcher was in no way built solid, bulking up like Hanai was. Instead the already slim body of the pitcher was trimming up. Every day when Abe hugged the pitcher like this Abe traced his hands up Mihashi's stomach feeling up the abs and pectorals that were slowly starting to gain prominence on the pitcher's torso. Abe went up, up to where his hands always stopped, right over Mihashi's small nipples that were always by this time fully erect. In their private moments in the locker room Abe always went in once Mihashi had his shirt off and always stopped his hands on Mihashi's chest; fondling and caressing the erect, rosy pricks of flesh.

But Abe always went up. He and Mihashi had never gone any further than a few heated make out sessions. It wasn't for the lack of want on either partner's side, which was evident by the bulge slowly growing in the front of Abe's shorts. Instead the couple set up boundaries for themselves. Both would keep their pants on until they were both ready. As much of a drawback both teens felt the rule was both were adamant about it and agreed that their first time should be truly special. So instead Abe got his hit of Mihashi this way; sweaty from practice when his must was strongest and Abe could easily fill his nostrils with the smaller boy's scent.

It was Suyama who brought the skyrocketing couple back to reality. "Oy!" He yelled. "If you're not going to tell me what the surprise is then I'm not going to let you two pervs feel each other up down here."

"Sorry," Abe and Mihashi mumbled simultaneously. Abe hated to pull away but Suyama did have a bit of a point. It was, now that he was breathing in clean air and not Mihashi, a public place and slightly embarrassing at that. With the mood thoroughly killed, Abe turned his back on his teammates and continued down to his locker. It was times like this that made Abe glad his locker was the last one. He in no way wanted the rest of the team to see his now fully erect member tenting out in front of him. By being the furthest away he could at least change away from the team and avoid the friendly yet stinging insults.

Yet despite being the very last one to start changing Abe was always one of the first out of the locker room and always waited. Every day he was leaning on the wall between the girl's and guy's changing rooms across from the drinking fountains waiting for his honey blond prince. And day after day Mihashi was always one of the last ones out. Sometimes the team stayed together and walked home, or at least to the CD shop, as a group. But on days like today the ten man team splintered into the more intimate cliques and on days like today Abe and Mihashi walked home alone. And every day once they cleared the school grounds the two lovers intertwined their hands, gloved against the cold but always warm with love.

How'd you guys like it? There'll be more chapters coming, when I don't know but there will be more. But only if you review.

Reviews keep me writing! Please let me know what you think or want to see happen!

~ebob


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note: Sorry it took me so long to get the chapter out. I've been busy with classes and exams and college stuff (yet never anything fun). Ug… Anyway, I hope you like this chapter.**

**~ebob**

**Disc: I wish I owned the characters…but I don't (unless I made them up, if that makes sense). But I do own the ideas. I think?**

**Chapter 2**

The couple walked to Mihashi's house together. They held hands together until they turned onto Mihashi's street. Both were comfortable with their relationship and loved one another very much. However, neither had come out to their parents yet either. Abe had suggested it a couple of times, coming out to Mihashi's parents at least, but every time the dirty blond pitcher declined. Abe didn't want to push the subject, especially with Mihashi's temperament. He thought that the two elder Mihashis would be fine with the announcement. But since Ren himself wasn't ready the catcher let it be. So instead the couple continued to hide their relationship, taking precautions and safeguards like letting go of each other when they neared each other's houses.

As Abe thought about it as the couple walked in silence to Mihashi's house, he realized that the only contact they had with each other throughout the day was in fact their time in the locker room. They went out just about every weekend, enjoying their date night as much as a fully closeted gay couple could. But even then they could only manage a quick kiss; or if they were really lucky and managed some time away from prying eyes they could share a tender embrace. Yet still the only time they had together to be themselves as a couple was their shared moment in the locker room.

When the couple reached the front door Mihashi turned to Abe. "Th-thanks Abe. I-I'll see y-you later," Mihashi stuttered.

The frown Abe was trying to hold back slipped onto his lips. He hated it when Mihashi stuttered. He had all but beaten the old habit when he was around people from the team, people who _knew_. But whenever he was in public hiding he returned to his old shaky way of speaking. But Abe recovered. "See ya," he said simply. Then in a lower voice finished with "I love you."

"Love y-you too," Mihashi whispered before turning away. Abe watched as his love bowed his head and passed through the threshold. A pain welled up in the catcher's chest. The utter sadness of the scene made Abe want to start crying, but he held back his tears. There was something unpleasant on Mihashi's mind, and Abe wanted to know what.

But he knew that there was no pressing the pitcher. If Abe let it be known that he was worried, then Mihashi would no doubt worry. Instead, Abe needed to let it go. He knew in his mind that if Mihashi wanted to share it, he would. But Abe needed to know that in his heart.

With a heavy heart Abe set off back home. The whole way back he thought of Mihashi. He concluded that there was definitely something on the pitcher's mind. But to interfere and solve the problem for his love would take away Mihashi's power and devalue him. Yet it killed Abe to know that his boyfriend was suffering and there was nothing he could do about it. By the time he reached his house Abe was in the gutter. Valentines Day wound be on Monday. There was always the possibility of celebrating the couple's romance during their normal Saturday date night. But Valentine's Day is a special day and should be specially celebrated. By the time Abe reached his room he started formulating a plan to show Mihashi how special he was to the catcher.

That night Abe rushed through his homework. A worksheet in history, ten pages in literature, and twenty algebra problems seemed like a trifle ordeal compared with finding something he could do for Mihashi. The pitcher liked baseball and liked to eat. The food situation could be taken care of by going to a restaurant or if the opportunity presented itself Abe could always cook something special. The problem would come afterwards. What could the couple do? The raven haired catcher didn't want another evening of simply watching a movie or anything like that. Abe wanted something truly special. But what?

Even as he slept Abe still didn't have a set plan. He tossed and turned, waking constantly as the hours crept by. Fear for the coming date's success clouded any rational thought and as he slept anxiety ate away at the young man's mind. There was no question that Abe loved Mihashi and that Mihashi loved Abe. But the raven haired teen began to worry if, despite their love, their relationship would last. If their current situation were to be taken as the norm, then would they forever be in this slump? The couple wasn't even at their 100 day anniversary, and yet already they had fallen into a monotonous routine. Could they survive?

The problem was a monkey on Abe's back on Friday as well. Nobody on the team had any suggestions. Normal dates like karaoke or the arcade wouldn't work. Mihashi didn't have the voice or the personality to sing, not to mention Abe's own harpy-like voice and general aversion to singing. Besides, Abe didn't want to remind his boyfriend about what happened last time they went to the arcade together.

It tore at Abe's sanity. Hardly at all during the morning's condition did the catcher even look at his golden haired boyfriend. He speedily showered and changed, making sure to be out of the normally semi-erotic locker room. As he walked down the hall, hair still wet from his haste, Abe fought back the tears the threatened his eyes. He and Mihashi had a problem with their relationship. Abe knew it and was even able to identify what the problem was. Yet here he was, walking away from the place where his eight best friends and his boyfriend were changing; a place ideal for the conversation Abe knew needed to take place. Yet here he was, walking away from the problem he had to talk over with Mihashi. Yet here he was, bewildered by his ignorance and knowingly avoiding the only source of a solution.

Abe kept his head low. If he acted like he was in a hurry to get somewhere then people would let him be. The last thing Abe wanted was to talk to someone outside of the baseball team. Abe felt like the next time he opened his mouth the confusion and panic waiting on the back of Abe's tong would spring forth. Somewhere. Abe had to go somewhere where people wouldn't want to talk to him. Some place quiet; some place where he could hide.

The library door was in front of him before Abe even considered the decision. Once he thought about it the library was the only real choice that met his criteria. Based on his actions the gruff catcher knew his teammates wouldn't be far off, wondering what had overcome their teammate. But Abe wasn't in the mood. Taking a seat at one of the tables in the vast and quiet room would be a trap. Instead Abe wandered into the back of the library; back into the deepest, dankest, least used region of the room. In the far back corner Abe made camp flanked by ancient math tomes caked with dust. No one would find him here. By the looks of the corner not even the custodian had ventured here.

Alone in the semidarkness Abe readied himself for the grief crashing against his inner walls. He bit his lips and curled into a tight ball. If Abe was going to suffer for his utter stupidity it would have to be in silence. With everything ready Abe let himself go. He conjured up his perfect saintly image of Mihashi and pulled out the stopper on his reservoir of bitter tears.

But nothing came. Abe couldn't cry. It was there, the burning sensation that always preceded and succeeded tears. His eyes sizzled and ached, but no a drop fell from the steely orbs.

His self hatred had been foiled. But why? Abe was stupid enough to recognize a problem with the one thing he wanted the most in the world. The honor of going to Koshien, and even more so winning the tournament, would be something that he would treasure. But it would be a dull candle when held to the bright, shining radiance Mihashi gave to the catcher. Mihashi gave the catcher light, direction, and something to hold sacred. The innermost corners of Abe's heart held nothing but the pitcher. Yet here he was hiding from the very person he loved more than anything in the world simply because Abe didn't want to talk about the problems he himself identified. It was like simply ignoring the couple's slump would make it go away. And a part of Abe thought that it would; that they both just needed something to kick-start their romance. But to leave it up to chance? To allow his happiness and sanity to ride on the winds of whim was simply on a level of stupidity far below the catcher.

And here was Abe, cowering in a corner hoping all of his problems would vanish. Abe wanted to laugh at himself, his foolish thoughts and fantasies but was too sad. He wanted to cry at his despair and his loathing, his foolishness and grief but was too melancholy for tears. So he did nothing. With a blank expression Abe stared at the ancient programming in DOS manuals on the shelf in front of him.

That is where Suyama found him, looking as though Abe's steely eyes were but windows to a soulless inner self. Suyama tentatively approach the catcher. The way Abe had left the locker room startled everyone. Now to find Abe as dull and, well, blank as he was was unnerving to Suyama. "A-Abe?" He asked, unsure of what would happen next.

The only recognition the catcher showed was an infinitesimal turn of the head.

"Abe," Suyama repeated with more feeling in his voice, hoping some of which would invigorate the catcher. It was eerie seeing Abe like this. He was never as sporadic as Tajima, but Abe gave his own sense of life and energy to the team. To see the cold calculating eyes of the catcher now empty of all feeling was unsettling. "You ok?"

Again Abe turned his head an minute distance towards Suyama. "I…" Abe trailed off. What should he say? Should, or more importantly could, Abe tell Suyama what was going on in his mind? Abe knew his feelings and thoughts were for the most part unfounded and ludicrous. But what if they weren't? It was that but that was keeping Abe's mind from thinking clearly. So he answered Suyama honestly. "I don't know."

"You ran out of the locker room pretty quickly this morning. Is there anything you want to talk about?"

Abe looked up at Suyama, his friend, his teammate. Abe was not particularly close to Suyama. Even within the team there were some divides. Abe and Suyama never before had hung out together just the two of them. But that didn't mean that Abe didn't like Suyama. Maybe it was time for Abe to branch out? "I don't even know where to begin," Abe murmured in a low voice.

"Mind if I join you?" Suyama asked nonchalantly, as if asking a distraught friend if he could sit next to him in a desolate and dirty part of the library was a weekly occurrence.

Abe nodded his head. "Go ahead."

As Suyama sat he tried to keep the conversation going. "Well tell me," he said, thinking quickly for something to say, "You looked fine yesterday. What happened last night to make you so, well, sad?"

A faint smile briefly twitched at Abe's lips. "I had an epiphany," he said nonchalantly.

"About what?" Suyama asked.

"I got to thinking; you know about Valentine's Day. Normally on Saturday nights we go get some dinner and then watch a movie or study or something. Nothing too interesting. I wanted to do something special for Mihashi," the catcher explained. "But I want to do something special for Mihashi this year."

"Like what?" The short stop asked.

"Good question," Abe responded. "That's why I'm like this. Mihashi loves baseball and food. I thought I could make him something, but then I don't know what to do from there. I get the feeling like we're just going through the motions, like we've already become sick of each other but just don't know it yet."

Suyama's eyebrows skyrocketed. "But you two just started going out. Hell, some of us on the team thought you two were secretly going out way before you actually were. If anyone is meant to be together, it's you two."

"I, I know," Abe said solemnly. "But this has realized just how much I don't know about Mihashi. I feel; I feel like I don't know him at all and that scares me, Suyama. It scares the shit out of me."

The short stop was silent for a moment. "Have you talked to Mihashi about this?" Suyama asked.

"I can't…I just c-can't," Abe's voice cracked as he spoke. It was a problem that tore at his insides. He felt so close to bursting into tears. His eyes scorched and stung and threatened tears but the droplets of salty water just wouldn't fall.

Suyama had never seen Abe so emotional. Part of him wanted to run, to leave get away from the unstable catcher. But that just wasn't Suyama's style. They were teammates after all. Suyama may not understand what the catcher's going through too well but damn it they were friends. "Why?" Suyama prompted, his voice softening in an attempt to soothe his friend.

"I don't know," Abe whispered. "I know I should. I really do. This isn't just my problem. We _need_ to talk about this. But I can't, I just can't."

The catcher was silent for a moment before adding as an afterthought "I'm too pitiful, too weak. Mihashi can do better than a wuss like me."

At this Suyama rose to his feet. "Alright. That's it. We're going." He commanded.

"Where?" Abe asked, his voice still dead as he looked up at the teen with the buzz cut.

The short stop glared at the catcher. "We're going to find Mihashi. You two are going to talk this out. Now let's go." As he spoke Suyama reached down to help Abe to his feet.

But the catcher just looked up at his friend with a blank face.

"Come on," Suyama prompted again. "Let's go." Abe still refused to get up, so Suyama brandished his ultimate threat. "Fine," he said simply. "I'll go have a chat with Mihashi; see what he thinks about this."

That was it, the only provocation that could bring the catcher too his feet. Suyama knew that Abe would rather drink gasoline than make Mihashi worry about him. It was almost sickening the way the catcher was devoted to the pitcher. Sickening perhaps, but deep down Suyama couldn't help but wonder what it would be like to love someone like that.

The steely eyes of the catcher flared with life for the first time since Suyama found the pitcher. He stood up quickly causing the short stop to back up a couple of steps. "Don't," Abe commanded softly, "it'll make him upset."

"Then go talk to him," Suyama half pleaded. "He's important to you. You can't let something like this come between you. To be weak is to be human. If you really love Mihashi you'll open up to him, let him help you and heal you."

The short stop's words dug into Abe. It wouldn't be easy. Opening up just wasn't something that Abe did. He had been strong for Mihashi when the pitcher wasn't able to. Abe was Mihashi's pillar. But who was Abe's? Could the timid pitcher shoulder Abe's burden? Was it right for Abe to force Mihashi to take some of it? Abe broke the eye contact he and Suyama had. "Mihashi has enough to deal with. He doesn't need any of my problems."

"Part of loving, Abe, is being able to share your weaknesses. Taking your flaws and your shame and laying them all before the one you want to be with. If Mihashi loves you, and believe me he does, then he'll accept you. But _you_ Abe need to take that first step. _You_ Abe need to trust and believe in Mihashi enough to _let_ him love you for who you are."

What did Suyama know? He had never been in love. Sure he'd had a crush or two but never a relationship. But Abe didn't know that. He didn't need to know that now…

"Thank you," Abe whispered looking back up at his friend. "Thank you Suyama. I'm glad I have a friend like you."

"So you'll talk to Mihashi?" The short stop asked.

"Yeah," Abe replied. "I will at lunch. The bell's about to –" the ringing of the warning bell made the catcher's point for him.

The two walked together back towards the year 1 wing. Steadily with conversation Abe's mood improved to the point where he was able to crack a joke. So it came as a surprise to the other members of the baseball club when Suyama appeared with a cheerful looking Abe. They didn't have time to stop and talk to the others. But as Suyama walked Abe to the door of his classroom Hanai jumped into the conversation.

"Hey Abe where did you –" the captain started.

"Later," Abe cut him off with a smile. "Class is about to start. I'll tell all you guys after school."

"What about lunch?" Hanai hissed, becoming more aware of their classmates' eyes gazing in their direction.

"I'll be talking to Mihashi in private."

Hanai nodded in understanding. He didn't know what the problem was, but everyone on the team saw that there was a problem. Including Mihashi. "Abe," Hanai warned, "Mihashi knows you're upset. I'd send him a mail as soon as you get the chance."

"Thanks Hanai," Abe replied before taking his seat. Abe was rational again. Suyama had managed to talk Abe out of his self loathing. Now he was back to his normal calculating self. And now he had to repair some damage. Although their literature teacher hadn't entered the classroom yet Abe knew she would be there soon. But he had to chance it. As fast as he could Abe took out his mobile and found Mihashi's contact, number 2 on speed dial second only to his voicemail. _I'm sorry,_ the catcher wrote, _we'll talk at lunch. Love you_. Abe hit the green send button just as the teacher shut the door behind her.

Classes were a slow and painful torture. In the time that passed Abe kept imagining what he would say to Mihashi, which make him think about the pitcher which made the time separating their reunion feel like forever and a half. Abe had to suffer through literature, math, biology, and then history. He had good grades in all of his subjects. It would be great if he could just cut class and spend his time in the library, probably in the same hidden math section, and have the talk with Mihashi he needed to have. Abe didn't need to be in class today, but Mihashi did. The pitcher was still as terrible at school as ever. But if they cut class now then Abe would be able to see Mihashi when they were supposed to be in class, and again when they had to study to make up for the material they missed.

It tempted Abe. Tempted him but the catcher knew better. He shook the thought out of his head. The last thing he should do is tempt Mihashi to miss classes. So Abe waited. Four long arduous hours of dull classes.

At least Abe wouldn't have to deal with anyone exchanging chocolates. It was an unspoken expectation that all of the girls would wait until Monday to hand out their chocolate. But that didn't stop the normal fangirls from trying to jockey their way into being one of the baseball team's Valentines. During each of the five minute breaks girls surrounded Hanai's desk, much to Abe's amusement. Hanai himself had started to relax a bit under the girls' attention. Like the catcher, the captain was learning to sit back and silently laugh as the girls fought with each other for Hanai's attention.

This within itself was amusement for Abe on a normal day. But the first year girls were becoming desperate. Since he and Mihashi had become an unofficial official couple the catcher had been giving any girl who approached either him or his boyfriend an evil stare. But this was Valentine's weekend. No girl wanted to be alone on Valentine's weekend. And since Abe didn't have a girl friend _and_ he was the catcher on the baseball team, Abe was had once again become a target for the misguided affections of random hormonal teenagers. He also wondered how Mihashi was handling the added attention for the occasion.

Abe looked up at the clock. "Just a one more class," he murmured more to himself than anyone else. Then he could go sort everything out with Mihashi.

"Abe-kun want to share my bento for lunch?" One of the now desperate baseball fangirls asked.

"What? I was just going to ask him!" Another exclaimed loudly. "I made it myself. It'll keep Abe-kun healthy for baseball."

The catcher ignored their rambling comments. "Sorry," he said curtly. "I have to see someone at lunch. Baseball stuff." That was the key phrase. "Baseball Stuff" let Abe get out of anything he wanted when it came to his classmates. He could ignore people, skip meetings, and blow off things he simply doesn't want to do. And to be honest, it really was baseball stuff.

The bell had not stopped ringing by the time Abe was out the door. It was one of the perks of having a seat close to the door. People were just starting to file out of the other first year classroom crowding the halls. Abe's eyes scanned the crowd looking for the shock of short messy dirty blond hair among the sea black and brunette.

Abe still hadn't spotted Mihashi by the time the catcher arrived at the pitcher's classroom. Inside were Tajima, Izumi, Mihashi, and Hamada surrounded a group of chattering girls and a few of their non-baseball friends. Suddenly Abe's chest became tight. The ghosts of his old thoughts reappeared in his mind. Would it be better for Mihashi to find someone else? All Abe had to do would be to turn around and walk away right now. The pitcher hadn't seen him yet.

But just seeing Mihashi relieved some of the doubt in Abe's mind. Mihashi _may_ be better off with someone else. But right now Mihashi was best with Abe, right now Abe wanted Mihashi, and right now Mihashi wanted Abe. After taking a pause to breathe and another to build confidence, Abe set his face in a half smile and focused his eyes on the pitcher. Before he could stop himself, Abe crossed the threshold and entered the classroom.

"Mihashi," the catcher greeted the pitcher before nodding at Hamada, Tajima, and Izumi. The two had seen the way Abe acted after practice. Probably would have discussed it between classes if they were alone.

Hamada, Tajima, and Izumi returned Abe's nod. "A-Abe," Mihashi stuttered.

"Mihashi," Abe repeated, savoring the sound of his boyfriend's name. For the briefest of moments he thought about what it would be like if all the girls surrounding Hamada, Izumi, Tajima, and Mihashi knew that Tajima was gay and that Mihashi and Abe were going out. If he were to suddenly drop that on the crowd, how would they react? Would they believe him? Would any be jealous?

Instead Abe continued with what he came to do. "Come with me for a bit. I need to talk to you about a few things."

Those who had seen what had happened in the locker room knew instantly what Abe wanted to do. Mihashi nodded his head solemnly before rising to his feet and joining Abe at the door.

"Wait, Mihashi-kun! What about my bento?" A girl asked.

"S-sorry," the pitcher said. "I g-gotta go."

Inwardly Abe smiled. She was nothing to Mihashi; just a leech trying to be "the ace pitcher Mihashi's girlfriend" purely for the social positioning. She didn't really care about the pitcher. And even if in some way she did have legitimate feelings for him, Abe loved Mihashi more. And hopefully, Abe would confirm that Mihashi's love for Abe was more than that of a crush.

**Post Script: I hope you guys liked the chapter. There's still more to come but I'm going to be pretty busy so it might be a while.**

**Please review, it makes me feel good and write faster…hehe…let me know if you have any suggestions.**


	3. Chapter 3

Well this came out sooner than I thought it would. I hope you guys enjoy it. I'm working on a oneshot rather, or should I say very, unlike my style that has been taking up a bit of my time.

Anyway, I don't own Oofuri but I do own the situation.

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**Chapter 3**

It was the middle of the school day and lunchtime to boot. Finding a quiet place alone would be very difficult for the two. All the quaint nooks and crannies of the school ideal for a private conversation would already be filled with people wanting to have just that. All the usual spots that came to mind, the gym, an empty classroom, a secluded stairwell, the library were all taken.

But it was in the library that Abe had an idea. People may be at the tables studying, but there was more to the massive labyrinth of a room than just the tables up front. The catcher knew from the morning's experience just how void of life the math section could be. The only way someone would find them there would be if some psychotic soul went looking for a multivariable calculus book for some ungodly reason.

As Abe lead the pitcher to the corner of solitude he tried to think of some lighthearted topic of conversation. Normally it was easy. When Mihashi and Abe were alone the pitcher was actually quite talkative. Abe knew it was because Mihashi could actually relax around him but now things were quite the opposite.

And as much as he hated it, Abe knew why. Mihashi was probably scared or worried or both over and at the catcher. Truth be told it was completely and utterly Abe's fault. Yet despite knowing all this he still could not think of anything to say to Mihashi that would lead to any pleasant conversation. Normally Mihashi was the one to do all of the talking. Often Abe would think his boyfriend had too much Tajima in him.

So instead of saying anything Abe, much to his stoic fashion, stayed silent all the way through the halls, through the rather empty hallway, which was a pleasant surprise to the catcher, all the way to the back of the room where they could be alone.

"Sorry for the walk," Abe said in a hushed voice after the couple reached their destination. "It was the only place I could think of where we could be alone."

Mihashi stared back at the catcher. It was not often that the two got into a fight. Abe was as overbearing as he always was, but he was never mad. So it was spats like this that worried Abe. He always believed that their love was deeper than any ocean and stronger than superman. But when Mihashi was silent, when like now the pitcher simply stared with an impassioned face at the catcher it scared Abe more than anything in the world because deep down he knew that before anything else since the start of the season Mihashi had become Abe's world.

This time however Abe knew he deserved the silence and the stares, if not more. "Anyway," Abe continued, trying to downplay the unease he was feeling, "Mihashi, I really want to apologize. I, I've been a real, well, douche today."

"Why?" The pitcher asked. "Why did you ignore me?"

Abe let out a sigh. He was glad, probably more than was "normal," to hear his boyfriend's voice. The catcher's voice reflected not only his love for his boyfriend, but also the humiliation that lingered from his hurt pride. "I, well, um…" Abe stuttered.

"Abe," it was Mihashi's time to turn the past six months around and soothe the catcher. "Please."

The swap of their traditional roles made the catcher chuckle. "Ok, ok," Abe consented. "Well Mihashi I got to thinking, you know, about us, and well," but he was hesitant. The catcher wanted to tell his love what happened, but what would Mihashi's reaction be? Would it be possible for the pitcher to agree with Abe's train of thought? And if he did, could the couple overcome the hurdle?

It was too much. Abe had thought himself into a downfall again that was overtaking his mind. He couldn't look at Mihashi. The catcher diverted his eyes filling with sorrow from the pitcher's beautiful face.

He waited for the pitcher to do something, to say something. But Mihashi stood still. A chance glance upwards showed Abe that all emotion had drained from the pitcher's face which now hung low, turned to the side as if struck by a blow from God himself. It was lifeless, little more than a forgotten painting hung in an aged frame. "A-Abe," Mihashi whispered so low that the catcher wasn't sure the pitcher had spoken at all, only the movement of his lips let in on the secret. "A-are you br-br-breaking up with m-me?"

Despite being in the same almost inaudible voice Abe heard this loud and clear. "No. No no no no no. Good god no." It was inconceivable. How could Mihashi think such a thing? By reaction Abe reached out to touch his boyfriend. Nothing could ever make him leave Mihashi. After the turmoil he had gone through even before the season concluded Abe was beyond positive he could never part with the bumbling and meek yet sensitive and trusting and sweet and amazing friend. "I could never do that. You're stuck with me until you get sick of me," Abe vowed. As if to seal the promise the catcher gently cupped Mihashi's chin with his forefinger and lifting it level with his own Abe softly, tenderly pressed his lips to his lover's.

It wasn't a long kiss, and Abe didn't know if it did its job. But he enjoyed kissing the pitcher and knew that the pitcher enjoyed kissing Abe. Yet the pitcher still had the ancient and lifeless look on his face that scared Abe like nothing had before. He was making the pitcher worry again. Here Abe was ready to apologize to Mihashi for making him upset and yet Abe was doing the exact thing he was there to seek forgiveness for.

"Abe…" Mihashi trailed off. "What are you getting at?"

"Mihashi," Abe cooed attempting to inject some humor and love into the atmosphere, an attempt that failed. In his normal voice Abe restarted his sentence. "Mihashi, I love you more than anything. You know that."

"What is wrong with you?" Mihashi softly demanded. "You're not yourself. You're not like you were yesterday."

The catcher was more than serious now. Mihashi was completely in the right while Abe was digging himself a deeper hole. "You are absolutely right," Abe conceded. "I have been weird lately. But, well…"

"But _what?_" Mihashi seethed. "Tell me."

There was nothing Abe could do. He could say nothing and leave Mihashi pissed at him for no reason, or tell the pitcher the conclusions he came to and chance having the pitcher agree. To Abe it was a simple choice. "I was thinking, that, well…" As Abe paused he cut off the objection Mihashi was getting ready. "Just wait Mihashi." He used the pause to collect himself and organize his thoughts. "Tomorrow is our date night," he began. "And I wanted to do something special. I mean something really special. But I got to thinking."

Mihashi stared at his boyfriend as he paused again. Abe felt the pitcher's searching eyes probe the catcher's face as if looking for some sign of Abe's thoughts on his face.

"I tried to plan out a special night. I wanted something more than dinner and a movie, something more than hanging out watching TV. But as I thought I came to the conclusion that, well, I know almost nothing about you. All I could think of was that you like baseball and you liked to eat. That's all I had." Abe let out a silent chuckle. It was almost kind of funny once he actually put his thoughts to words. "Then," he continued, "I couldn't help but think of what that meant. We're not even at our 100 days. Hell, we're at less than 50." Abe blinked away the tears that started to burn their way in his eyes. Voicing his thoughts had gone from almost funny to now more painful than when he couldn't confess to Mihashi. At least then he had never felt like he had since they had been together. "We're in a rut, Mihashi. I will never ever want to leave you; but I don't want you to get bored with me either. I'm scared Mihashi. Scared out of my mind that you will someday soon you will get tired of me and just throw me aside like homework past due."

All the anger, terror, angst, and a mixture of other emotions Mihashi had no chance at identifying flew from the pitcher's face. But Abe didn't see any of it. He had turned his head away from Mihashi in an attempt to hide the tears now staining his face.

Nothing worth saying came to Mihashi. He had no witty saying, no sentence crammed with the words of love. It simply wasn't Mihashi's style. What Mihashi did have, however, was something he couldn't say with his voice. Abe had done this for the pitcher many times throughout the season and even more during the trouble that followed the season. Mihashi stepped forward and hugged Abe. It was not embrace of a lover. Nor was it the embrace of a brother. It was something that went deeper, penetrating through the binds of fraternity and infatuation to the very foundation of their union. Beneath everything that they were, Mihashi knew, they were first and foremost friends. So it was with the tender understanding arms of a friend that the pitcher held his catcher. "You are my friend, Abe," Mihashi whispered in Abe's ear. "You are my boyfriend but more importantly you are my friend. I don't care if all we do for eternity is sit looking at each other. If I can sit and look at you then I will be the happiest person that ever lived.

Much to his surprise this stemmed the flow of Abe's tears instead of exacerbating it. It only took a moment before the raven haired teen was able to return Mihashi's hug and when he did it was with a renewed resolve. So what, Abe decided, if their date wasn't the most perfectly planned date ever. So what if they sat in Abe's living room and watched TV. The point of the date would be so that he was with the honey haired pitcher. Wasn't that all that really mattered? The pitcher was right. As long as he was with Mihashi Abe didn't care what they were doing.

Slowly the couple came back from reality. Neither wanted to let go of the other. When they did separate Abe felt like he had just parted with his very soul. "You know," Mihashi said, his voice cheerful, "if you keep thinking things like that, maybe you should just stop thinking all together."

"And end up like you?" Abe fought back. "I'm the brains."

Mihashi cocked an eyebrow at his boyfriend. "And what does that make me?" He asked.

"The beauty," Abe replied nonchalantly and without hesitation.

The couple had come to an understanding. The squabble had weighed heavily on both teens. The fact that Mihashi had jumped to the conclusion that Abe wanted to break up with him was enough to show the catcher just how fragile their relationship really was. It was not inevitable that they would be together forever. Yet it also was not destined that they break up before the day was done. Work would be needed, that was for sure. But Abe knew he had to be careful not to be overbearing on the pitcher.

Their problem behind them Mihashi and Abe emerged from the desolate corner. There was still enough time in their lunch break to grab something to eat. The battery decided to skip going back to Mihashi's classroom and joining the rest of the club. Instead the couple stopped at Abe's currently empty classroom where his lunch of rice and a hefty portion of the night before's curry waited. It wouldn't be enough for two. The lunch Abe packed never seemed like enough for him sometimes. They ate it anyway.

When the lunch bell rang Mihashi left for his classroom. They still had five minutes before the next class would actually begin but since Tajima, Hamada, and Izumi would be waiting for him Mihashi left at the bell's toll leaving Abe alone in the classroom to reflect on what had happened.

So Abe was caught somewhat off guard when someone cleared their voice behind him. Turning around, Abe saw much to his chagrin it was only a member of the baseball team's unwanted fanclub. He really didn't know who the girl was. She was like him a freshman, but not being in the same class Abe didn't have a name to put with the face. He had seen the face before though. The catcher knew by face who most of their most adamant and unwanted supporters were. This came in particularly handy when avoiding people in crowded halls. If he could see trouble looming it was just easier to avoid. "Can I help you?" He asked her.

She was pointedly standing to what would be the back of Abe's chair. Abe had left out any feeling in his voice. This unknown girl was simply too pretty for him to waste any time getting to know. She was a pampered and thought she knew style, albeit probably more than Abe did which lead to his resentment. Her obvious dyed blond hair screamed that she thought she was pretty. Her caked on makeup that looked to have been applied with a shovel told Abe she thought she was hot. To Abe she looked simply like a slut, like something the kind of guy she undoubtedly thought Abe was would want to be with. The scene was completely familiar. She was, simply put, the same as Aizawa-chan before she worked her way into part of the team. But this floozy didn't have someone like Shinooka to use as an "in" for the team. So it was with contempt that Abe now waited for the girl to respond.

"Ah, Abe-kun?" She stumbled. But Abe saw through it. He knew her by face, and while that meant he didn't know and rightfully didn't care about her life story it also meant that Abe wasn't exactly foreign as to whom she was. And the soft, almost timid voice she used when speaking his name was not her normal voice. She was putting up a feint.

Despite knowing it was only a front and despite presumably knowing her goal, Abe still obliged her by responding. "Yes?"

"Um, I, um, well…I think you're, well, cool," she stuttered. "Will you, um, will you go out with me?"

He knew it was coming. It was after all the day before Valentine's Day weekend. "Sorry," Abe replied in a flat tone, unable to inject even the most token of false sincerity. "But I'm not looking for a girlfriend."

"Please?" She tried again, batting her eyelashes at the catcher. "I don't want to be alone on Valentine's Day. Everyone will m-make fun of m-me." Abe had to give her some credit. The fake sob in her voice could be misconstrued as real.

"Sorry," Abe repeated in the same flat voice, "I'm busy on Valentine's Day already." It wasn't a lie, and it occurred to Abe after the fact that if word got out that he was already taken then just maybe people would stop trying to vie for his attention.

"Oh," she said simply. Abe wanted to turn back to his desk, or rather he wanted to look away and dismiss her, but whoever this girl was she simply didn't realize that their conversation was over. She insisted on standing in silence and stare at the catcher.

He thought about saying something, but he didn't know what she wanted. Which was a good enough question. "Is there something else?"

The girl's eyes lit up as suddenly set aflame. "Yeah actually," she said removing all of the former tenderness and shyness that had occupied it earlier. "Who're you going on a date with?"

If Abe didn't already dislike this girl he would have after her remark. It was private. She didn't have to know who. All that mattered, Abe thought, was that he was taken by someone who wasn't her. "It doesn't matter," he replied coldly, allowing for his overflowing resentment to color his voice.

But her eyes burned brighter. Everything about her face and eyes told Abe that she was working something out. "It's Mihashi, isn't it?" She guessed.

The catcher stared at her. It was possible that she had taken a lucky guess. Her voice gave off the air of someone who knew for a fact that they were right. But it was also not only possible but actually, Abe reasoned, more likely that she had simply convinced herself that Abe and Mihashi were dating. Although from the outside it could be taken that the batter was in fact dating. The baseball club looked from the outside like a solid, united front. It was only to those intimately in the know with the club who understood that there were actually cliques and groups within the club. The fact that Mihashi and Abe was a pair could be played off as that they were simply best friends. Then again they actually were dating. "What makes you say that?" Abe probed.

A gnarled, devilish smile contorted the girl's face. "I overheard you two in the library," she said. "Apparently you two had had a fight this morning."

It took everything Abe had to keep himself from showing any sort of reaction. If she knew that they had had a fight then she did know just about everything. And it would be a reaction that she would be looking for as confirmation. So Abe kept his body in check as her eyes scanned him, looking for any sign of discomfort.

He knew by the set of her face that denying the scandal would be fruitless. She had something on her mind that she could barely contain. Abe contemplated the possibilities and concluded that she wanted something from him, a conclusion that made little sense to him. What did he have that she would want? A date with someone on the team? It was possible, but why would she go to Abe? If she went to Abe to use his connection to his teammates to force a date, then she would definitely know that they looked out for each other which would make it pointless not to go to whoever she wanted herself.

"And?" Abe stalled. He needed more time to think about her motives before he could commit to the next step. As things were the move was hers. She could cut the bullshit and tell Abe what she wanted thereby giving scope to any plan Abe could come up with, or she could try to act smart and dance around what she wanted and give the catcher more time to think of a strategy.

Her smile broadened. "I want you to go on a date with me."

"That makes no sense," the catcher admitted. "Why do you want me to go on a date with you?"

"Are you stupid? I like you, obviously."

"So you like me and are black mailing me into going on a date with you by threatening me with having you try to out me?" Even as he put what she was implying into words it seemed irrational and completely self negating.

"Yeah," she affirmed. "And if you don't go on a date with me then I'll show everyone this." The still unnamed girl dug in her purse for a moment before emerging with a cell phone. After flipping it open she pushed a series of buttons before turning the display towards Abe.

There on the main display was a picture of the two kissing showing both faces. Visible on the lower part of the screen were the books behind which this girl must have been hiding. It was undeniable proof of the battery's relationship. Both Mihashi and Abe's faces were visible in the picture which would cause a massive uproar in the school.

Frankly this girl had Abe in a bind. All she wanted was a date on Valentine's Day, probably more for the bragging rights than anything else. It was only one date, though Abe knew it wouldn't be only one. If she was willing to force a gay guy who by definition would not return her feelings to go out with her once, who was to say she would stick to her word and only make it one date. There was always the chance that she would try to make Abe and Mihashi break up so that Abe would be free to go out with her for real.

The image on the phone glowed back at Abe mockingly. All the secrecy he and Mihashi had tried to put in place now ruined because Abe's own carelessness forced the two to meet and make up while at school. He could see his own stupidity accenting the picture. The blunder was making him blush, the heat from his cheeks like a cackling sardonic laughter. How much he wished he could just brush it all away like nothing, like the proof in her hand had never happened.

And why couldn't he? With no thought and no prior planning Abe reached up and swept the phone out of her hand. "No!" the girl protested as Abe quickly scanned the screen. She was reaching for it now, using her hands clawed with fake nails to scratch at his arms while he held his hands out of her reach. Finding the menu, Abe selected the picture and promptly deleted it, erasing all evidence of his and Mihashi's secret relationship from malicious hands.

"There," Abe said triumphantly. "Now you have nothing."

"I'll still tell," she seethed.

Abe knew she was pissed at him. She was threatening him with now empty words. Some people might believe her, but not many. It would be too easy to simply say that they were just good friends. The baseball team would back the battery up. Sure they would have to be much more careful than they were now, at least for a while, but soon enough things would go back to normal. Abe relished his victory. "Nobody would believe a person as dumb and desperate as you."

"Would too," she countered.

"Not if I told people you were doing it because Abe rejected you."

Both Abe and the girl swiveled their faces to the door. Standing in the door was Sakuma Elizabeth. Normally Abe wouldn't have counted her as an ally but he was not going to question her generosity. After recognizing the source of Abe's help the catcher turned his eyes back to the girl who had threatened him. She was blinking hard in disbelief now, as if trying to wipe away Elizabeth's presence with her eyelids.

"Everyone would believe me Natsuki-san," Elizabeth continued, "everyone knows how desperate you are. It's sad really."

At Elizabeth's words Natsuki turned sheet white. "I hate you," she whispered, her voice staying low but building in strength. "I hate you I hate you I hate you!"

"It's your own fault," Abe cut her off. "You tried to blackmail me." It was the truth and even Natsuki knew this. Instead of prolonging a futile and loosing argument the pompous girl fled the classroom.

Abe was glad to be rid of Natsuki. He did not however expect Elizabeth to come to his aid which posed another problem. "Thank you Elizabeth." Abe said.

"She's just stuck up," Elizabeth said. "It was my pleasure."

And judging by the look of pleasure and satisfaction on Elizabeth's face it really did look like she enjoyed verbally backhanding Natsuki. Yet the problem still remained. "How much did you hear?" He asked, scrutinizing Elizabeth's face and waiting for her response.

"I came in and saw you take Natsuki's phone. Whatever you two were arguing about she seemed pissed."

After studying her face Abe deemed she was telling the truth. It took considerable strength to keep his sigh from reaching her ears. "Well thank you again," he repeated. "She wanted me to go out on a date with her and when I said no she tried to blackmail me into it. What you saw was me deleting her proof off her phone."

"Ha ha nice," Elizabeth chuckled on the way to her desk. "Awe man now I'm bummed that I missed it from the beginning."

Hanai appeared in the doorway and made his way over to the catcher. The big beefy palm on Abe's shoulder told the catcher that the captain was still concerned for the scuffle he and Mihashi had had earlier in the day. Before Hanai spoke a word Abe told him all he needed to hear. "Don't worry Hanai. It was a misunderstanding but we've settled everything.

The right fielder, nodding silently, accepted what the catcher said and made his way back to his desk. Class was about to start, evident by the influx of students filing into the class, and an in-depth conversation would have to wait until later.

-----

So how was it? The part about Natsuki blackmailing Abe is courtesy of StarFixation and I must say it helped me out a lot in determining where the story would go. Please review and tell me what you think is good, bad, and/or want to see happen. I can't promise that I can take everyone's requests, but suggestions give me directions.

~ebob


	4. Chapter 4

Here's another chapter. I hope you all enjoy it. Exams are fast approaching so I don't know when I'll have the next one out. Sorry this is a bit shorter than the other chapters.

As always I don't own Oofuri but, well, I'd like to.

**Chapter 4**

The catcher felt pierced by the stares Hanai was giving him in turn throughout the rest of class. At first the attention the captain was giving the catcher was slightly funny, almost cute. But as the classes wore on Abe was getting fed up. He was a high school student and despite the stereotype Abe had proved he could in fact look after himself. Hanai was going a bit overboard in trying to protect the team.

When class did finally end Hanai was at Abe's desk before the bell stopped ringing. "Wait 'till before practice," Abe hissed in response to the look on the right fielder's face. Hanai walked next to Abe as the left the classroom, Abe making sure once again to thank Elizabeth on his way out. The catcher was tempted to taunt Hanai, to just not tell him anything to see how the right fielder would take it. Hanai would definitely be upset but the whole thing would be useless because Abe would have to tell the team sometime and the sooner the better. He had learned his lesson well about trying to work out a problem on his own.

"What was that about?" Hanai asked once they had made it into the hall.

Abe grinned. "That girl, not Elizabeth but the other one, she took a pic of me and Mihashi kissing at lunch today when we made up. I was just deleting her pic when Elizabeth came into the room. I don't think she knows why that girl and I were arguing but she took my side right away," Abe explained.

The captain was silent for a second. "I like her," he allowed. "She's a nice person."

"She has the hots for Suyama," Abe said nonchalantly.

"Huh," the captain said surprised. "That's interesting."

"Yeah."

"I think they'd made a good couple."

"Yeah," Abe agreed. "Definitely."

They walked in silence towards the gym meeting up with other members of the Nishihiro team on the way. Abe kept his eye out for Mihashi but the couple didn't meet until Abe walked into the locker room. Mihashi entered a minute or two after Abe had. The couple went through their usual pre-practice greeting of a subtle make out session that grows steadily into a flurry of kisses and roaming hands.

As they kissed Abe could hardly hold back his relief. At the beginning of the day the catcher was frightened that he would never be able to hold Mihashi like this, that they were destined to break out. It was a real and ever-present fear that accompanied Abe no matter the occasion. So he kissed Mihashi, kissed him and touched him and did everything he could to show the pitcher that he was Abe's.

Mihashi was not passive in his feelings either. The usually timid pitcher returned the catcher's sentiments through equally aggressive, equally ferocious kisses. Even Mihashi's calloused hands fluttered over the catcher's chest and back.

It was the most impassioned moment the two had shared at school. Abe could feel the pitchers lust as well as a hardening of more than just their love and resolve. If this continued any further Abe would have a tough time cooling down and collecting himself for running and weightlifting. The catcher consciously thought about pulling away from his boyfriend and putting a stop to the problem. He thought about it, he wanted to, knew it would be for the better, but it was no use. Abe had no control over his body.

So it was Mihashi who had to break the kiss, half out of modesty and half out of his desperate need for air. It was unusual for the team to let them continue like they had. Usually someone, typically Tajima, would clear their throat or make some remark that would ground the couple. Today however there was no such thing. The rest of the team, used to seeing the pair make out like starving animals feasting, had let the couple go. Abe assumed it was partially because of the coming holiday and partially because the couple had just had one of their worst quarrels. No matter, both the catcher and his pitcher flushed and broke apart before getting changed and heading to the weight room.

Abe stroked the back of Mihashi's hand with his thumb as the two walked home together. His arms and legs burned from the workout, but the ache of his muscles was nothing compared to the burn in his heart. It was moments like these that made the catcher's life utterly complete. He sighed at the beauty of the moment.

"What's wrong Abe?" The pitcher asked.

The catcher looked into his lover's beautiful eyes. "Nothing. I'm just…" he trailed off. "Happy I guess, I can't really describe it."

"Me too," Mihashi replied.

They walked in silence a little while longer before something occurred to Abe. "Hey Mihashi," Abe asked.

"Yeah?"

"Well, since tomorrow is Valentine's day, we should do something."

The pitcher gazed into the catcher's eyes. Abe could feel himself start to slip into the depths of the cobalt eyes staring lovingly back at him. "Like what, Abe-kun?"

"Um…what?" Abe asked as he tried to pull himself back to the real world. "Oh yeah. Um, how about someplace kinda nice?"

"L-like where?" The pitcher asked.

Abe's lips cocked into a sly smile. "It'll be a surprise. Just meet me at the CD shop tomorrow at five. 'k?"

Mihashi nodded his head vigorously in agreement, an action that use to cause the catcher great anxiety but which he now found sort of cute. It made the pitcher seem even more like a kid.

By that point the couple had turned onto Abe's street. "I'll see you later. Remember Mihashi, tomorrow at the CD shop at five."

"Mmmm," Mihashi grunted in agreement. The two shared a quick kiss before Abe departed into his house happier than he had been at the beginning of the day. The catcher nearly danced through his house and up to his room. He had a superbly awesome date to plan that he was sure to leave Mihashi enamored all the way to white day the coming month.

At six thirty Abe's parents came home. Over dinner the parents told Takaya and Shun that tomorrow they would be going out tomorrow for Valentine's Day. This wasn't exactly a surprise to the catcher, but it could be useful in his date planning. If his parents were going out then it would mean that the house would be relatively empty until they returned. It would leave open the option for the teenage couple to come back to the Abe household and hang out in Abe's room. Then again it may cause some concern for the catcher's parents if he were to spend his Valentine's Day with Mihashi alone in Takaya's room.

The catcher was silent as dinner progressed. He had to work out his plan for the next day. Staying up in Takaya's room would be out of the question, at least with the parents at home. That meant that either his and Mihashi's date would have to end while they're out or finish up at Mihashi's house.

"Takaya did you hear me?"

Takaya looked up to see his parents staring at him. "Huh? Sorry," the catcher apologized.

"Never listens," his dad said in an upset tone. "I asked if you had any plans for Valentine's day tomorrow."

A question the steely eyed teen should have seen coming. Technically either way he answered wouldn't be a lie. Yet if he said yes he would get grilled about who they were with and if he said it would be with the pitcher, well, then Hell's fury would be nothing compared to his father's. And if he said no, then what? Most likely his parents would still grill him with questions but probably be more along the lines of who he liked and why he hadn't asked her out.

Then a third choice appeared to the teen. He could be super honest and go with the truth. "Kinda," the catcher replied. "I know I'm doing something, but I don't know what."

"With who?" His mom asked.

Takaya could feel the heat start to rise in his face. He felt like he was cheating his parents even though he knew deep down he wasn't. "People from school." His reply was decidedly without a gender identifier. "But we don't quite know what we're going yet."

"You have a girlfriend, don't you?" His dad asked point blank giving Takaya the distinct understanding of what standing in front of a firing squad must feel like.

The great mood Takaya had coming off of the day melted away faster than an icy popsicle on a blazing summer day. "Well, no, but –"

"Why not?" His father demanded. "You're a star on the baseball team. You should be dating the most popular girl in school."

The already quick and shallow breaths Takaya was able to manage sped up even faster. His anger was starting to manifest itself in the pit of his stomach. He put down his chopsticks and tried to take control of his emotions. The physical side of his emotions was easy enough. He could feel the bile in his stomach that always associated itself with hate. It was a feeling he knew very well, but was also one he had hoped was for the most part behind him. Instead it was the anger that clouded the catcher's mind that presented itself as the more formidable foe. "I…" he began but stopped. The last thing the steely eyed catcher wanted to do was tip his hand in any way to his parents. If he spoke without thinking he would undoubtedly say something he would deeply regret. "I…It's called a private life for a reason," the catcher finished.

"It's simple," the head of the Abe household said forcefully. "Just answer the damn question."

The catcher had to close his eyes to stop the fire in his eyes from burning his father. "If it matters that much to you," Takaya breathed, "then just pretend that I said something you like. Now if you'll excuse me I'm not hungry anymore." To show his finality Takaya got up from the table and left to his room. Bringing Mihashi back to this house tomorrow would definitely be an epic mistake.

Takaya made a point not to come out of his room for a few hours. He hadn't had much to eat during dinner and now his stomach regretted walking out on the meal. But as much as he wanted to go back down and grab a snack the steely eyed teen couldn't muster up the willpower to face his father. Even with a boyfriend Abe still didn't exactly consider himself "gay." Instead the catcher considered himself to be open minded. Love could come anywhere. It was fine if Takaya's father didn't feel the same. What the fifteen year old didn't need, however, was his father's demands hampering the catcher's life. Mihashi had come out of nowhere and made a huge impact on the catcher's life. And besides, it wasn't as if Abe was being flamboyant about anything. His orientation happened to be towards Mihashi and probably could have very well have been Shinooka or Hanai or, hell, even Aizawa.

The steely eyed teen decided it would be best to fume quietly in his room. Soon enough Takaya would make up with his father. That time would come later. For now the catcher had some more pleasurable thinking to do. He couldn't bring Mihashi home, Shun would most likely be home and Takaya didn't want his little brother to know about his relationship and if his dad found out then Hell would be a paradise compared to the Abe household. That meant the couple would go out. A restaurant would be fun, maybe someplace relatively nice.

The 8-bit monotone melody of Abe's ringtone notified him of a new mail. Expecting something from Mihashi, Abe was pleasantly surprised to see on the front display that it was from Suyama. _Abe help!_ It read. _I have a date tomorrow. What do I do?_

Abe grinned. He was pretty sure he knew all about Suyama's date. Just to be sure he wrote back to the short stop. _Calm down. Who with?_

Suyama's reply came almost instantly. _Sakuma Elizabeth. What do I do?_

_What do you normally do on a date?_ The catcher wrote.

_My first date,_ Suyama replied.

_How much do you like her?_

The short stop's reply came after a few extra moments of hesitation. When it did come the mail pleasantly surprised the steely eyed teen. _A lot. I wanna do something nice_.

A breath of relief escaped the catcher's mouth. He knew how much Elizabeth liked Suyama, and it was great to hear that Suyama returned her feelings. Unfortunately the reciprocal feelings didn't quite solve the short stop's problem. Abe and Mihashi had their own date routine, and it was one that isn't exactly the best option for a first date or for Valentine's Day which was the cause for Abe's own distress. _Don't know_, the catcher authored to his friend. _I'm having same problem. All I have down is dinner_.

Seconds turned themselves into minutes as Abe waited for a response. He had almost given up on the conversation when Suyama sent him a mail back. _This sounds bad but mind if we tag along for dinner?_

Suyama was right, it did sound kinda bad to invite yourself and your new girlfriend along to your closeted friends' Valentine's Day date. It was embarrassing to Abe to be asked to join on a date. If it was Izumi and Aizawa then the catcher would have agreed with little thought. But since Sakuma Elizabeth wasn't a part of the baseball team's inner circle, or outer for that matter, she didn't know the battery's secret. Allowing her in would be a big risk to the closeted pair. If word got out about their relationship it would definitely be a big scandal because of the team's popularity.

Yet a part of the catcher wanted to have the new couple join he and Mihashi. Allowing Elizabeth in on the secret would be a gamble. If things went bad with Suyama then there would be nothing stopping her from telling anyone who would listen. However Suyama was their teammate, and Abe knew that Elizabeth really was a good person. _Let me ask Miha if he cares_, the catcher wrote.

Abe had to word his message carefully. He didn't want to pressure the pitcher into making a decision. If Mihashi felt uncomfortable with having another couple join them on their date then it was fine with Abe. What Abe didn't want was for Mihashi to say nothing at all and try to hide his disappointment. _Do you care if Suyama and his girlfriend join us?_ Abe typed. At first glance the note read like a casual question. The steely eyed teen hoped that this would surprise his boyfriend into giving a quick response lacking in any serious thought which would mean that Mihashi's answer would be completely honest.

The pitcher's response was a few minutes in coming. It was long enough to make Abe think that the pitcher wasn't by his phone, yet it was fast enough for Abe to allocate enough time for Mihashi to have a minor freak out before answering. The catcher hated it when Mihashi tried to answer in accordance to what he thought Abe would want. Mihashi was so easy for the catcher to read that he could call the azure eyed pitcher out on it just about every time. _Its fine,_ Mihashi answered.

_You sure?_ Abe double-checked.

Upon receiving Mihashi's confirmation mail Abe quickly wrote to Suyama telling him he was good to go. The two spent the next hour looking online while mailing each other periodically with suggestions. They wanted a place a bit more upscale than the typical dives students their age went to while keeping the price as low as possible.

It was nearly nine o'clock when the duo's effort was reinforced by Izumi. The two had switched to facebook chat and the short stop had complained that all of the high class places were way too expensive. As Abe was typing his response Izumi's chat box popped up with an inquiry much akin to Suyama's. _What are you and Miha doing for Vday?_ The center fielder asked.

_Going to dinner with Suy and his gf. U?_

_Suy has a gf?_ The speed demon questioned.

_Long story. Whats up?_ Asked the catcher.

_Sak's dad'll give us discounts at his restaurant. U 2 in?_

The catcher chuckled at his luck. It has slipped his mind that Sakaeguchi's dad was the head chef at the restaurant of a high class hotel. After checking with Suyama the steely eyed catcher agreed on behalf of both couples. _What time and where are we meeting?_

_Train station at four,_ Izumi answered. _Sak's dad will be ready for us. Dress nice but not quite shirt n tie._

_Why so early?_ Abe asked. He had asked Mihashi to meet him at five for dinner which he thought was normal. Eating at four or four thirty would be kind of early in the day to eat.

Izumi's response made Abe feel stupider than Tajima sounded. _We'll be there before the crowd._

Seeing Izumi's valid reasoning, Abe sent out a quick mail to his boyfriend telling him the time change and the dress code. Mihashi questioned the catcher's plans in a reply mail but Abe simply told the pitcher it would be a secret.

Abe, Suyama, and Izumi continued to talk and plan for the rest of their respective dates. It was decided that the group would stick together for dinner and then go to a more intimate café for dessert before splitting up. The catcher had no idea what he would do after it became just he and Mihashi. Having dinner at a pretty high class restaurant was an amazing break. By the time they finished with that and dessert it would probably be around six or six thirty. Abe was determined not to let the special date end then. Tomorrow night would be a huge step in their relationship.

The possibility of the two expanding their love from a strictly sentimental affection into the physical realm was ever present on the fifteen year old catcher's mind. The couple had danced around the modesty line with increasing frequency. Their tradition of groping each other whenever they kissed taunted the catcher's imagination and tortured his sex drive mercilessly. Often he was tempted to drag Mihashi off into a secluded corner and go to town on the smaller teen. More often than no the only thing stopping the steely eyed catcher from doing just so was the inevitable hell the other Nishiura players would give the couple. It would be in jest Abe was sure, but there was also the possibility that some, mostly Tajima, may harbor real resentment at the prospect of the battery suddenly disappearing to go have sex.

But this was Valentine's Day. It was a given that couples everywhere would spend the evening as well as the night together, so why should the battery be any different? They were entitled to the same right to physical enjoyments as any other couple. Abe didn't want to pressure his boyfriend, but if the situation presented itself then the catcher would have no trouble getting in the mood. In all likelihood it was something the steely eyed teen thought he should plan for. Just in case.

The plans of catcher's "just in case" scenario whirled themselves around in Abe's mind refusing to give way to the catcher's conversation at hand. His thoughts had long since moved away from the realm of suggestive situations into the deeper and questionably more mature territory of the act itself. Instead of planning on how to get Mihashi in the mood both of Abe's heads were filled with possible run-throughs of what the catcher would do to his naked and horny boyfriend. His fantasies were precisely detailed from seeing his boyfriend in the locker room every day. Abe could almost feel Mihashi's body pressed tightly against the taller boy's body despite the catcher being alone in his room. The steely eyed catcher was standing on the edge of the point of no return. Abe hand stroked and caressed his manhood as mental pictures of the cute pitcher's naked body with a seductive expression superimposed on Mihashi's face.

Carnal passion and pleasure fought against the catcher's logical and analytical self. On the one hand Abe was horny from thinking about having sex with his boyfriend, while on the other hand if the steely eyed teen masturbated now he would be spending part of himself before he had a chance to share himself with Mihashi. Yet Abe was already hard and, for all intents and purposes, already going at it; yet to continue masturbating would mean risking being caught with not only Shun home but both of Abe's parents as well. Then again Abe was really horny.

With desire pulsating in his veins the catcher decided to bid his friends goodnight and go to bed. He was still uncomfortably erect and hoped that by the time he returned from the bathroom his system would calm down enough for him to sleep peaceably. As the steely eyed teen lay in his bed falling into the clutches of sleep one last wave of passion hit him. His semiconscious mind conjured up the feeling of Mihashi's body and the pitcher's heavenly scent. Abe smiled as he hugged his pillow close, replacing in his mind the soft sack of down with his lover's supple body.

I hope you all enjoyed this. It took me literally days to think of something to do for the date otherwise it would have been out sooner (and I know, it's kind of a copout but meh…). Please let me know what you think as well as any suggestions. I have a very vague overall plan for the next chapter but I'm definitely up for suggestions.

~ebob


	5. Chapter 5

Sorry it took me so long to update. Things have been a bit busy and I had no idea where I was going with the story. Thankfully a pm from _Just Call_ got me kickstarted again. As always I don't own Oofuri but I do own what happens here.

~ebob

**Chapter 5**

The morning hit Abe with a panic. It was then. It was here. It was Valentine's Day. An unusually quiet morning for a Saturday greeted the catcher as he rolled out of bed. Usually Takaya could hear his little brother watching a Saturday morning anime or hear his dad's favorite sports newscaster rattling on about the scores and some scandal always plaguing the American athletes. If he, or more likely Mihashi, ever went pro would their relationship be big news? Would it be a scandal? Would either of the two care?

Oddly enough the house was empty. It was only eleven in the morning. Surely the Valentine's Day plans hadn't started this early? Then again Takaya's parents never went over their plans with the steely eyed catcher beforehand so he really didn't know what was in store for them. So instead of worrying the catcher sent a mail to both Suyama and Izumi double checking that their plans were still on. They had done it in reverse, the catcher knew. It was Valentine's Day so that meant that the girls were supposed to plan the date and make the chocolate and whatnot. March would be the day for the guy's to have their turn. Then again having two heterosexual couples and one gay couple involved on a group date to a high class restaurant wasn't exactly cannon for a first year of high school Valentine's Day date.

But as Izumi and Suyama's reply mails confirmed the details it reminded Takaya that he really didn't care too much who asked who and what happened to what. In all honesty since technically Mihashi confessed first and since Mihashi also kissed Abe first it could mean that Mihashi, despite his personality, was the "guy" in their relationship. Which then would make Abe the girl and then his Valentine's Day plans would be fine, because he was the girl.

Then again if Abe was the girl, then wouldn't that make him the uke and Mihashi the seme? This thought caused Takaya to shudder. Who kissed who first meant nothing in their relationship. They were at the point where they could and often did start kissing randomly. If that were the case and dominance hasn't been established in their relationship then it left the steely eyed catcher the opening to still be the top. Then again "catcher" typically meant receiver and the "pitcher" is the one who gave.

As Abe pondered over the future state of his role in their relationship it occurred to him that he still didn't know what he wanted to do for the latter part of the battery's date. It was still cold outside and it got dark at an ungodly early hour so any prolonged time spent outside would be out of the question. What if Mihashi caught a cold? What if it worsened into pneumonia? Then it really would be his fault. How would he explain that to the rest of the team? "Yeah, Mihashi's in the hospital. He has pneumonia. Sorry guys, my bad."

The catcher chuckled to the silent kitchen. Then for sure he would have Hanai after him as well as Momoe's ungodly strong forearms ready to crush him like her oranges. At first Abe pictured his coach's obscenely strong hands circling his head ready to pop it. Then it occurred to Abe that the coach wouldn't kill the catcher. She still needed him. Instead she would probably use her bear claw hands to castrate the catcher and take away the indirect cause of the pitcher's illness.

No Abe would have to avoid any scenic stops.

The late morning ticked into early afternoon which met Abe still alone in his room. At half past two Abe hopped in the shower. He had to keep himself in check as he showered. His night with Mihashi was on his mind and if he wasn't careful the excitement would be more than he could handle. Abe wasn't expecting anything to happen with Mihashi but just in case he wanted to be ready.

Once out of the shower Abe got dressed. Izumi had told them that they would have to dress nice. No tie, but still nice. Their school uniform would work in terms of formalities. But Abe wanted to stay away from anything that reminded them of school. However, assuming that as a dress guideline Abe adorned the black dress pants the school mandated but decided to go with instead a rather dark charcoal grey button up dress shirt. The weather was nice for being the middle of February and since he would be spending most of the time inside he opted out of his hideous puffy jacket.

At five minutes to four the catcher found himself walking through the threshold to the train station. Izumi and Aizawa were sitting on a bench talking. Both were dressed rather nicely, Aizawa in a black dress that barely covered her best assets while Izumi like Abe had gone with the pants to their uniform deep lilac button up, and both wore smiles portraying nothing but deep undiluted love. Abe paused for a second to take in the quaint scene before hailing the couple. They greeted him back with fervor and Abe joined the couple on their bench.

The trio had just finished exchanging pleasantries when Mihashi arrived. Abe eyed his boyfriend. He had on the same pants as his teammates but included white top of his uniform. Abe didn't mind. He loved the way the thin white material clung to the pitcher's lithe and lean body. To him it was like wrapping a ball in wrapping paper, where you know what's under the paper but the shell provides just enough mystery to make the process of unwrapping just that much more fun.

A sharp poke in the side from Aizawa released Abe from his dreams. "You're drooling," she chided.

"No I'm not," the catcher answered while pretending to itch his chin, checking to make sure that he had not in fact been drooling.

Mihashi sat next to Abe on the now full bench. "Where's Suyama-kun?" He asked.

Abe was about to say that he didn't know when Izumi spoke up. "Over there," he said pointing over to another platform at the station. The others looked over to see their teammate with a beautiful girl holding his arm, both searching the area for their friends. Izumi, reading the situation, stood up and motioned for the short stop and his date to join them. As Suyama and Sakuma approached Abe honed in on his teammate's date. He analyzed every aspect of the girl's expression as she approached. Suyama had to have told her it was a triple date. Besides, Sakuma was smart and it was Valentine's Day. She was bound to put two and two together. What mattered was how she would take it. Suyama seemed to really like the girl, an observation made clear by the look in his eye; it was the same that Abe saw in Izumi's eye as he gazed at Aizawa and knew was in his own when he looked at Mihashi.

Sakuma Elizabeth was all smiles when she and Suyama reached the two seated couples. The only change Abe could detect was a softening of the girl's eyes as they scanned the four faces. "Guys, this is Sakuma Elizabeth. She's in our year," Suyama introduced.

To Abe's expectation his classmate flushed red. "H-hello," she greeted the two couples with a faint smile.

"Beth-chan, this is Izumi, Aizawa-chan, Mihashi, and Abe," said Suyama as he gestured to each of his friends in turn.

"I know Abe-kun. He's in my class," Sakuma offered. "He's the one who told me I should make you these." With that Sakuma reached into her bag and pulled out a packaged wrapped with deep red paper that had a strawberry seed pattern.

Suyama's eyes bulged for a moment before he regained control of himself. "Beth, y-you didn't h-have to…" he trailed off, his face becoming as red as the wrapping paper.

"B-but it's v-Valentine's Day. I wanted to do s-something special."

The short stop gave his girlfriend a rather shy hug. "Th-thanks," he murmured. When they parted the look on his face reflected the slightly awkward tension in the atmosphere. "Um, but I don't have any pockets big enough to carry this. Can you keep it in your bag for me?"

"Yeah," Elizabeth said as she took the package from her boyfriend's hands and tucked it safely back into her bag.

"We should get going," Izumi offered filling the silence. "We have a bit of a ride before we reach that part of town. The platform's over this way." With that the center fielder took his girlfriend's hand and led her toward a different platform.

Abe, taking Izumi's lead, snagged Mihashi's hand in his. "A-Abe," Mihashi asked surprised. His eyes flickered over to Sakuma's before back to the catcher's.

But Abe had not let the girl out of his constant scrutiny. "It's alright," Abe soothed, "she already knows."

"She does?" Mihashi asked. "I thought you didn't tell her yet?"

"I didn't. She already figured it out just from seeing us. It is Valentine's day and we're the only two unescorted."

"Actually," said Suyama's girlfriend cutting in, "I overheard from part of your conversation with Natsuki. But don't worry," she said turning to Mihashi who was starting to go a bit white, "I wont tell anyone."

Abe squeezed his boyfriend's hand, ringing home his trust for Sakuma. Mihashi looked at the catcher, then at the newest addition to their circle of friends before giving her a smile. Abe, knowing that that was the best Sakuma was going to get for a while, led the pitcher off to where Izumi and Aizawa were waiting.

The train ride through the city was dull affair. In their car of the train Abe caught the eye of a few people as he looked around. The first was stiff looking man that looked like he could be any of the Nishiura team's father, who let a half smile live on his face as he eyed the two traditional couples. But that smile disappeared and he shot a nasty glance before turning away after seeing the loving way the battery held fast to each other's hands. In stark contrast to this rather cold reception was a short, wrinkled old woman riding alone on the train who hardly ever took her eyes off Abe and Mihashi. She gazed at them with a look that Abe couldn't help but see as remembrance, like she knew him from long ago dream.

This disconcerted Abe for a while. Her eyes shuffled from him to Mihashi and their linked hands before finishing the circuit back at Abe. Abe tried to brush this off for a little while but shortly after the stiff looking man silently condemned them the catcher managed to catch the old woman's eye. Her smile broadened into a honeysweet grin. At the next stop the man helped the grandma up and the two exited the train car. Abe looked at Mihashi and smiled. It was good to know that not everyone would condemn the couple for their love.

On the upscale side of town at the edge of the beach sat the Ozaka Beach Hilton. Abe had seen it a few times before and always wondered two things: what kind of people stayed at the Hilton and why this particular town, with no significant attractions spare the mediocre beach, had a hotel as extravagant as the Hilton. It made no sense to the catcher but it didn't matter. They were going to eat at the resort's extremely pricy restaurant at a huge discount and the idea of eating high caliber cuisine for such a cheap price was enough to make Abe shrug off his wonders.

The restaurant portion of the resort was perfect for the occasion. The lights were dimmed down as low while flickering candles adorned every table casting their weak light about the room. The other diners, of which there were only a scant few due to the early hour, were serenaded by soft classical music played over the speakers at a volume just perfect to fill any lull in conversation without being a hindrance.

They were greeted at entryway by a handsome looking female hostess. "May I help you?" She asked politely as she gave the group of six an over rehearsed smile and a polite bow.

"Yes," Izumi spoke up. "I believe Sakaeguchi-san made reservations at four thirty."

Once again the hostess quickly eyed the pack, taking in their manner of dress and assessing with a slight adjustment to her smile, letting it dart momentarily into realm of legitimacy. "Yes Sakaeguchi-san mentioned that he was expecting a group. Will it be just the six of you; or will more be joining?" As she finished her eyes hung for a moment on the battery before making their way back to Izumi.

"Just us," the center fielder replied.

"Right this way," she said before leading the group to a corner at the far end of the dining room.

The six teens thanked the hostess and took a seat. Abe watched with bemusement as first Izumi pulled the chair out for Shinooka, and then following his cue Suyama did the same for Sakuma. Abe looked at his boyfriend and the two exchanged a smile before each pulling out their own chair and sitting down.

After a few minutes of small talk Izumi drew the group's attention to a man Abe vaguely recognized. If the man was thirty years younger with brown hair instead of jet black and his dirty white chef's uniform replaced with a Nishiura baseball uniform Abe would know the man who greeted the six warmly. "And how is everyone today?"

A chorus of "well" and "good" answered the second baseman's dad.

The older Sakaeguchi surveyed his son's teammates, looking each in the eye in turn. "For the sake of the two beautiful young ladies my name is Sakaeguchi Yoshi. I'm the executive chef here at the Ozaka Beach Hilton and I am Yuuto's dad."

Sakuma and Aizawa replied in turn with a cheery "nice to meet you."

"And where are your dates, boys?" The older Sakaeguchi asked as he looked from the pitcher to the catcher and back again.

Mihashi's face blew up fire red at the question. Abe too turned slightly pink but was able to hide it better than his boyfriend. "Oh, um, we're here stag," the catcher said in what he hoped was an off-hand manner. His intuition told Abe that their friend's dad wouldn't care if he had told him the truth. However the battery had made it their policy to keep as many people out of the loop as possible. Sakuma-chan was a special case, she was now Suyama's girlfriend and Abe owed her for having his back. But with Sakaeguchi-san, as nice as he was, it simply wasn't vital that he know.

"I'm surprised with you two being a part of the baseball team and all…" the second baseman's dad said trailing off for a moment. "Anyway, I can give you guys my discount on these four entrees here," the chef pointed at the different items in turn, "as well as any fountain pop. I've gotta head back to the kitchen but I'll make you're your waitress Yamachi-san knows about the discount." After receiving a hearty thank you from the six diners Sakaeguchi Yoshi departed.

True to his word a waitress with a charming and, in contrast to their hostess, honest smile greeted the six minutes after the chef had resumed his work. Less than half an hour later the group was served what Abe knew would be the best food he had ever eaten. His pasta smelled amazing, fettuccini with pork and vegetables smothered in a heavy cream sauce. It was beyond anything the teen could hope to make on his own without years of practice first. Maybe he would go to culinary school after life at Nishiura?

The conversation had died down when the waitress had delivered their plates and didn't seem to start up again. Izumi and Aizawa were in their own little world, snickering to each other as one fed the other little portions off the other's plate. Mihashi was busy destroying the helpless basket of bread left as an appetizer, skipping completely the peppered olive oil and grated cheese, while his lasagna sat closely guarded from any who might try to sneak a taste without consent.

And Suyama and Sakuma simply sat there. The couple wasn't holding hands or chatting or even looking at each other. Abe had to do something. Suyama was his friend and teammate and Sakuma had grown on him a bit. There had to be something the two had in common that they could talk about. "W-where's Sakaeguchi-kun this w-weekend?" Mihashi asked as he set aside a plate of breadcrumbs and adjusted his entrée before him.

"Yeah," was Abe's ingenious addition to the conversation.

"Oh, um," Suyama said off guard. "I think he's at his grandparents this weekend."

"Sakaeguchi…he's the first baseman, right?" Sakuma asked.

Abe looked around the table. He wanted Suyama to answer this. Thankfully Izumi and Aizawa were busy embarrassing themselves and Mihashi had unleashed himself on his lasagna. "Oki is our first baseman. Sakaeguchi is our second baseman."

"I thought you played second base," Sakuma interjected.

Suyama twitched a quick smile. "I play short stop. I cover second sometimes but Sakaeguchi plays second base."

From there Suyama went into an in depth overview of the positions, who plays what position, and some general rules for the game. As it turned out Sakuma didn't know a whole lot about baseball having never watched a game in her life. That made an eavesdropping Abe feel a bit better, knowing that his friend's girlfriend wasn't only interested in him because he played baseball.

So Abe ate in silence as he listened mostly to Suyama and Sakuma talk about baseball and then sports and quickly onto interests in general as well as small snatches of what ever it was Izumi and Aizawa were doing. Mihashi wasn't talking too much but Abe knew that if he wanted an audience with the pitcher he would have to wait until the golden haired boy's plate was free of food first. Abe knew he ranked first in Mihashi's priorities, but food was a close second.

The dining room was starting to fill up now. Couples dressed in a range from conservative formalwear like shirt-and-tie and evening dresses all the way to a stylish party decked out in tuxedos and the most amazingly elegant gowns, evidence of a more formal evening yet to come, Abe had ever seen. As students their party of six was clearly out of place and by the look of them without ties Abe thought the four boys were if anything underdressed. It made him feel uncomfortable.

When all had finished eating the waitress came and delivered their checks. Without asking she put one down in front of each of the guys. Abe grabbed his and Mihashi's before the pitcher could finish reaching for the slip of paper. The meal that should have cost them $25 per person had shown up with *special discount* printed at the bottom with Sakaeguchi-san's initials next to it. His and Mihashi's combined bill was just under the $30 mark. Before Mihashi could protest Abe handed the waitress the two bills back with two twenties tucked inside and said softly "no change please."

Only on their way out did it occur to Abe that he had just paid for he and Mihashi, just like Izumi had done for he and Aizawa and Suyama for he and Sakuma and that that mean that since Abe paid then he was the man. Did that make him the Seme too or was that still up for grabs?

"It's six fifteen," Aizawa informed the group when they reached the main train station. "Kosi-kun and I are going to a movie. You guys are welcome to come but from here on out," at this point Izumi gave Aizawa a quick kiss on the cheek, "it's every couple for themselves."

"Suyama-kun and I are using my parent's season tickets to the symphony," Sakuma said accounting for the newest couple. "Abe, Mihashi, you guys are welcome to come along. Rush tickets aren't too expensive and the pieces they're playing are supposed to be great, really romantic."

Abe glanced over at a sleepy looking Mihashi. For the briefest of moments it occurred to him that while he had paid for the dinner like Suyama and Izumi, he was also leading the date like Aizawa and Sakuma. Pushing that thought aside the catcher read the look on Mihashi's face. "I think we're going to, ah, head –"

"D-down to Fujiekki park," Mihashi cut in. "W-we're going ice skating th-there." The lethargy that Abe had seen in the pitcher's face had disappeared. Instead he looked a bit excited and, if his steely eyes weren't misleading him, could that be proud of himself?

The three couples parted ways on different trains. "Ice skating?" Abe asked when they were safely stowed in a car packed with couples.

"It's fun," Mihashi replied. "Hamma-chan and Kou and everyone from the creaky-creaky apartments used to go on the pond nearby when it got cold."

The catcher had a different opinion. He had gone once when he was in primary school. The class went on an outing once to a rink. The only memories Abe had of the event was of him falling down. A lot. A whole lot. Abe didn't have a fear of skating or anything, but it wasn't something he did.

Then again Mihashi had, beyond Abe's expectations, suggested the evening's activity. It was sure to be absolutely crowded beyond imagining but since Mihashi suggested it Abe didn't say a word of protest. Instead he tried to look and sound excited as they took the train to the heart of the upscale side of town.

One look at Fujiekki station confirmed Abe's suspicion of the crowds. Throngs of people left each train that pulled into the station. Even their own car emptied as couples all headed to the more fashionable date spots. "On second thought," Mihashi said before they got off, "I've got another idea." He pulled out his phone and sent a quick text. They were still on the car when the doors closed and it pulled out of the station heading further and further out of the heart of town.

Abe waited for as long as he could stand. Finally, his curiosity overcame him. "Um Mihashi? Where are we going?"

Mihashi gave a rare sly smile to his boyfriend. "We're going to another spot. It's just a few more minutes away. We should be there before seven." His phone buzzed from a text and the pitcher turned his attention to the conversation to replying.

When the train pulled into a station Abe had never been to before, the Ao station, Mihashi rose to his feet. He took a confused Abe by the hand and led him off the car and out of the station. Another five minutes of walking took the couple to a smaller yet still nice down town shopping district but Abe had no idea where he was. Mihashi stopped at a pavilion overlooking a large circular area that was surrounded by a small fence. The place wasn't very busy so there was no line leading to the pavilion which had a big sign on it advertising surprisingly cheap ice skate rentals. It then occurred to Abe that enclosed circular area had been frozen over to form an ice rink, and that somehow Mihashi knew this was here and wasn't busy.

The pitcher led his boyfriend into the pavilion and paid for both skate rentals. When Abe protested Mihashi replied with "you bought dinner. This is the least I can do." Mihashi had his shoes off and skates laced well before Abe had his shoes off. But soon enough Abe had his skates laced what he thought was rather securely. Mihashi had no problem walking on the thin metal blades across the rubber mats and onto the rink. Abe on the other hand clung to the guide rails inching his way to the rink. Mihashi waited for the catcher and when Abe reached the pitcher Mihashi took his hand and the two skated onto the ice.

And Abe fell, a face first slip-of-the-foot fall broken only by Mihashi supporting the catcher's inside while Abe's right hand shot out for the rail. "Don't skate much, do you?" Mihashi asked playfully.

Abe shook his head. "I've been once when I was really little."

"Try standing still on your skates," Mihashi suggested. With difficulty Abe managed to stand erect. "Good. Now try moving forward."

The catcher thought for a moment. He couldn't just take a step forward. Balancing on one skate would be too hard. So Abe jerked his body forward and nearly fell again. "How?" He finally asked, having difficulty keeping the frustration out of his voice.

Mihashi's ocean blue eyes slid up and down the catcher. "Try angling your feet," he suggested, "pointing your toes outward." With difficulty Abe managed the feat. "Now push off one like your jumping forward."

Abe tried and nearly fell over sideways.

"Like your hopping from one foot to the other. Just keep your skates angled and kind of hop from one to the other. You'll get the hang of it."

Looking around him Abe tried to see what Mihashi was talking about. The rink only had a few people in it, most of whom were couples absorbed in the company of the other. But as Abe's eyes danced from person to person he began to see a small sway in the people he observed. Every so slightly they shifted their weight from one side to the other while keeping their feet angled minutely. Abe tried to mimic the other people and found it much easier than what he was trying to do before. After a few false starts the catcher found himself, albeit awkwardly and with difficult, gliding alongside his boyfriend.

The two completed a few laps along the outer ring before the clack clack clack of skates on ice warned the couple that someone was closing in fast. "Oi, Mihashi!" A voice hailed as it neared. "You made it." A boy swooped into the path of the battery and with a move that sprayed ice shavings onto the barricade stood someone that Abe faintly recognized.

I hope you liked the story. Not very interesting I know but meh, I'm getting there. I'll try to get the next one up as soon as I can but I always say that. I'm completely open to ideas as far as where the story should go and I welcome any helpful review. Thanks for reading.

~ebob

ps. I also have another relatively long Oofuri oneshot I'm working on that hopefully will be soon (i'm hoping for septemberish...it's 10 pages and just about halfway done.


	6. Chapter 6

**Here's the next installment. I hope you guys enjoy.**

**As always, PLEASE REVIEW! Your reviews help me soooo much. If you like it, hate it, or simply see a spelling mistake please let me know!**

**~ebob**

**Chapter 6**

"Sh-Shu-chan!" Mihashi exclaimed when his childhood friend and semi-rival came to a rather impressive stop before the two Nishiura players.

Abe looked at the amateur figure skater again. Now it made sense as to why the newcomer looked familiar. Nishiura had played the Mihoshi team for their first game. Personally Abe was a little surprised it didn't kill the pitcher from the sheer anxiety. Seeing the rival pitcher again after such a turbulent meeting was supposed to put the catcher on his guard, but the way Mihashi had greeted his Mihoshi-brand doppelganger with such warmth made it difficult for the steely eyed teen to keep up his previous belief.

If Kanou had any apprehension it was masked behind a smile so big Abe thought only Tajima would be capable of such a monster grin. "Mi Ha Shi!" Kanou sang, obviously jubilant at his childhood friend's appearance. "Glad you two could make it."

A moment later a pretty girl with curly blond hair drooping out of a fuzzy knit hat glided past the Mihoshi pitcher and after seizing his arm came to a stop. Abe's eyes flickered for an instant to the girl causing him to chuckle silently. If Ren had been the ace pitcher at Mihoshi and had had a normal junior high experience with normal friends and self confidence, then this girl would be with Mihashi instead of the catcher. Abe didn't see the girl clinging onto Kanou's arm as a climber or anything, but a faintly nostalgic feeling bit at Abe. It was like in the American movies; Mihashi would be the football quarterback and this girl would be the captain of the cheer team. Abe knew just by looking at this girl that if Mihashi had had friends at Mihoshi, then Mihashi would be hers. If he were to be honest with himself, he would almost call this feeling jealousy. Standing before him was the girl Mihashi was, if things went differently, Mihashi was destined to be with. So did that make Abe the truly destined one? He felt like that would be the case. But this feeling, the more he dwelt on the nature of this inkling the more he felt like _he_ was the unnecessary one. She meant nothing to Mihashi and she nothing to him, and yet Abe was jealous of her. Because this girl, who but a second before meant nothing to the world, on the arm of Kanou practically screamed every instance of pain and agony that drove Mihashi to where he was.

Yet where Mihashi was now, that curious place encompassing both stardom and obscurity, was it such a bad thing? Was Abe a bad person for being thankful for all the pain in his boyfriend's past that brought to the two together? Abe didn't know. Often, before he knew Mihashi's feelings, Abe wished with every fiber of his being that the past could reset itself to give Mihashi a second chance at love and friends. For Mihashi's sake Abe could give up his love. But now that Abe knew that he and the pitcher would be a couple, could he justify subjecting Mihashi to the same torture simply so that they would meet? In the fraction of a second Abe's eyes took in the girl's features he made two conclusions. First that if Mihashi had had a normal life with any semblance of confidence then it would be Ren Mihashi the Mihoshi ace and this girl skating together, and secondly that he was in fact a terrible person for being thankful for the hellish torture that scarred his boyfriend so badly it warped the pitcher mind into such a feeble and helpless persona simply because it gave Abe what he knew Mihashi would have had otherwise.

"Me too," Abe agreed with Kanou. "The first place we went to was packed."

Kanou opened his mouth to comment by his girlfriend beat him to it. "Mihashi? Mihashi-kun? Is that you?"

By reflex Abe slid his body ever-so-slightly in front of the pitcher shielding him from view. Neither of the two Mihoshi students noticed, but Abe's action caught Mihashi's eye. He slid minutely out from behind Abe. "Y-yeah," he replied. "Is that you, m-Maya-san?"

It made sense that they would know each other, but it still irked Abe. They were no longer classmates, so why was she so informal? At least Mihashi knew how to address someone with respect. "You two know each other?" Abe asked the more than obvious question hoping to determine just how intimate of an acquaintance they really were.

"We were in the same class last year," she replied nonchalantly, which set off Abe's vindictive side which in turn triggered a wave of shame and remorse. He was judging her based off of the conclusions he drew despite knowing absolutely nothing about the seemingly nice girl. The steely eyed teen knew that she was no threat to him, but he also knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that the two blondes were predestined at birth to be together. "But it was only for a little bit so I didn't get to know him that well. I was disappointed to hear that he transferred out for high school. It's weird, who knew that we'd meet each other again like this?"

"Weird, isn't it?" Kanou agreed. "Anyway, this is my girlfriend Maya Sakhalin."

"A-and this is Abe-kun," Mihashi introduced.

Maya took a moment to appraise the catcher. "Nice to meet you," she replied, her voice still disgustingly genial. "Are you two just hangin' out stag?"

"Ah," Abe stuttered. Despite knowing the question was coming Abe hesitated a second unsure of how to respond. He was comfortable telling the two that he and Mihashi were in love, but Kanou was little more than a fellow baseball player to him and the catcher didn't want to say anything that Mihashi didn't want known.

"A-actually we're…we're…" Mihashi started. It would be hard for anyone to admit a relationship such as theirs, Abe knew, and was surprised that Mihashi was trying to voice the truth. "Abe and I are, w-well, we're d-dating."

It took a good deal of concentration for Abe not to show anything on his face. He doubted that Kanou knew about their relation ship and wondered what Mihashi's childhood friend would say about the news. Kanou looked at Mihashi, then over to Abe, and back to Abe, before replying with a simple "cool."

Maya seemed to be more impressed than the Mihoshi pitcher. "Aw, I'm happy for you two," she cooed. Abe tried to detect any sort of sarcasm in her voice but decided with regret that there was none to be found. No matter how hard he tried Abe couldn't find any reason why he shouldn't like this girl.

With the formal introductions out of the way Kanou, Maya, Mihashi, and Abe continued the double date on the rink. At first the quartet had to take things slow for Abe's sake but the catcher was surprised to find how good of a teacher Mihashi was. There was no way the pitcher should ever consider it as a career but in only a few short minutes Abe could skate forward, turn, and could kind of stop on his own. This was much different than their past dates, and Abe couldn't imagine himself having a better time. As eight o'clock turned into nine and then nine thirty Abe found himself yawning more and more. He didn't get much sleep the night before due to his excitement, and all the ice skating had left Abe pretty tired. As much as he loved hanging out with his newfound friends Abe was tired and by the rate Mihashi was yawning he was almost done for himself.

"Maya and I are gonna head out," Kanou said right as Abe was making up his mind to leave. "We're gonna head over to my house and watch a movie. Do you guys wanna come with?"

"N-no thanks," Mihashi answered before yawning. "W-we're gonna go back home. Th-thanks though, Shuu-chan."

Kanou's cheeks flushed as Mihashi used his friend's childhood nickname. "Yeah, see ya' Ren Ren."

Both Abe and Maya were grinned at the two pitchers as they said their goodbyes. When the catcher said his farewells he felt a little relieved to leave. He liked Kanou, but being away from Maya seemed to calm him a bit. It was unnerving for someone as mild mannered as Abe to have such animosity for a girl he didn't even know. Thankfully Mihashi didn't notice his internal strife as the two returned their skates and headed for the train station. Abe didn't realize on their way in but the town they were in was pretty at night with the soft yellow glow of the street lamps illuminating the fluffy white snow strewn on red brick paved streets resembling a candy cane.

"I-it looks like a c-candy cane," Mihashi said pointing to the road.

"I was just thinking that," Abe replied. "It's beautiful out here."

Together the two Nishiura teens walked back to the train station hand in hand. Abe noticed that Mihashi lead him on a different rout that weaved through the small downtown of the city overlooking what, according to a nearby sign, was the same river that flowed by their school.

The train station was nearly empty when they arrived and their car back into the city was just as barren. Abe spent his time holding Mihashi's hand and letting his mind wander as the pitcher lightly dozed with his head on the catcher's shoulder. Every few minutes Abe would glance down at his boyfriend and smirk at how young the softly snoring Mihashi looked. The two baseball players were in the prime of their youth and, at least in Abe's case, the night's activities had brought the already deeply in love couple closer together. Yet as close as he now felt to his love Abe couldn't forget about the revelations he had had back on the ice rink. Mihashi was full of innocence and purity. He had never heard of the pitcher hating anyone ever. And yet here was Abe, thankful for the fact that this purity had been defiled. They were close, yet could Mihashi do better? Shouldn't he be with someone worthy of the pitcher's human divinity?

Mihashi awoke as the train pulled into their station. One more short ride on the city tram brought the couple back into familiar territory. Slowly they meandered back through the Nishiura neighborhoods. Abe didn't notice where their path was taking them until Mihashi stopped in home dugout of the baseball field. This was the place where it all began. His and Mihashi's first meeting, what felt like eons ago, was in reality only nine months in the past. Abe thought back over some of the more exciting things that had happened to them. There was the first practice where Abe, thinking little of the timid Mihashi, first caught the meek teen's fastball and fell in love with the awkward pitch. Then there was their game against Mihoshi where Abe was so scared that his new pitcher, his new ace, would leave Nishiura for his old team. Hatake and the other members of Mihashi's junior high team had apologized to the pitcher, but a fit of panic overcame the catcher as he waited for Mihashi's response.

"W-what are you thinking about?" Mihashi asked.

Abe didn't realize that the pitcher was watching him; nor did he notice that the corners of his eyes were wet. Abe didn't say anything for a few moments, taking the time to let the nostalgia sink in. When he was ready Abe let out his initial thought. "This is it; where it all began."

"Where what all began?" Mihashi asked.

"It," Abe replied, "the team. Us." The catcher was silent for a few more moments before he continued. "I was just remembering the first day of practice, when I first caught your fastball. And the game against Mihoshi, when I realized how attached to you I had become."

"W-what about th-the game against Tosei?"

The catcher sighed. "It was a great game. You were amazing, fending off a school like Tosei. I was so proud of you you have no idea; but I was also an ass to you. It's not exactly a moment I'm all that proud of."

"W-well I'm proud of you, Abe-kun," Mihashi cooed.

"Why?" Abe asked.

"Because without you, I'm just a slow pi-pitcher with a weird fastball. You've been the gr-greatest thing to ever ha-happen to me."

Abe was silent as he tried to think of some way to respond. He had seen what Mihashi was like in junior high and had played a part in changing the pitcher for the better. But he also had seen, at least in his mind, the person Mihashi should have become. "I'm n-not all that gr-great," Abe replied, his voice shaking slightly.

"A-Abe-kun you're the greatest person I know," the pitcher interjected.

Another too long pause ensued. Mihashi turned his boyfriend to face him. Instead of looking at the pitcher Abe turned his face and looked away. This was very unlike the cool, confident catcher that normally faced problems head on. "A-Abe-kun, wh-what's wrong?" The pitcher asked.

The catcher stayed silent, lest Mihashi see the turmoil he was in.

Mihashi extended his arm and with a soft caressing hand gently turned the catcher's face back to face the pitcher. Abe was, of all things, softly crying. "A-Abe-kun," Mihashi gasped. "A-are you al-alright?"

Abe gave a small nod. "It's…It's ju-just that, we-well, I, I saw it."

"Saw what?"

"Everything."

Mihashi studied Abe. The tears on his face worried the pitcher. Abe never cried unless something was really wrong. "Abe, tell me what's wrong," Mihashi commanded in a soft yet firm and commanding voice.

"W-with Maya and k-Kanou," Abe clarified. "K-Kanou's life should be y-yours."

The catcher only perplexed the pitcher more. "What?" He asked, peering as deep as he could into Abe's cold, hard eyes saturated with agony. "Abe you're making no sense."

"If things had only been a little different in junior high. If you had had a normal life with normal friends then it would be you with Maya."

"Abe you can't…" Mihashi started.

But Abe wasn't listening. "It would be you with her, Mihashi. She's perfect for you, or at least would be."

Mihashi cupped Abe's face with his hands. "Abe, you're the one who's perfect for me. Nobody else. You're my teammate, you're my friend, and above all you're my boyfriend. Nothing you say will ever change that."

"Mihashi, I'm an awful boyfriend. I'm not even that good of a friend. All during the summer tournament I was terrible to you. And seeing Kanou with Maya tonight made me realize a few things."

"Abe you're the –" Mihashi started.

"I realized," Abe continued, cutting his boyfriend off, "first that you and Maya were predestined for each other and second that I'm a terrible person for being thankful for the absolute hell Hatake and your old teammates put you through."

And there it was. Abe laid out on the table everything that. As the moment dragged on, slowly wrapping itself in a dark silence, Abe felt the leak from his eyes begin again. Under Mihashi's gaze the slow trickle broke into torrent of hurt sobs. Abe loved Mihashi and loved being with Mihashi. But he hated himself for not being good enough. "Mihashi, I'm…I'm…" he started.

Before the catcher could go any further the pitcher tilted his catcher's face down and cut him off with a deep kiss. Instead of calming the catcher Mihashi's kiss caused Abe to start to bawl. Gently Mihashi pushed Abe down until both were sitting on the snowy bench. When Mihsahi broke the kiss the catcher had calmed down a little. "I don't know why you feel the need to hate yourself," Mihashi started, "but I love you."

"But I –"

"I don't care. I was able to meet you because of Hatake and the others. In a way I'm thankful for what they did too. I wish I didn't have to go through that, but now that it's done with I'm glad it happened; so I don't want to hear you put yourself down anymore." The tears in Abe's eyes stopped flowing with the pitcher's words. Finding his job complete, Mihashi moved on to the next step in the date. "Now, let's go to my house. I don't know about you, but I'm kinda in the mood for a movie."

Back at the Mihashi residence Abe and his boyfriend came home to an empty house. "Let me call my parents and tell them that I won't be home," Abe said as he took off his shoes and jacket before following Ren up to his room. Abe's parents nor shun were home so Abe left a message on the machine. Spending the night at a friend's house wasn't an uncommon occurrence. Since he and the pitcher had gotten together Abe had spent the night only once, but since the year began the cliques on the baseball team would frequently spend the night at one another's house. Given that history Abe was sure there was no way his parents would derive the truth.

Before the two took their customary position in Ren's bed Abe took out the old red sleeping bag from the closet and cleared a spot on the floor of manga and clothes before spreading it out. He had used it many times before they were a couple and now used it as a prop to keep their sexuality a secret from the elder Mihashis. Abe had no intention of spending the night in the bag on the hard floor, and once it was set up the catcher moved aside the stacks of manga and laid on the bed. Abe didn't realize how much skating had taken out of him until he hit the mattress.

After putting the movie in Ren joined his boyfriend on the bed, snuggling up to his boyfriend and using his shoulder as a pillow. Abe wrapped his arm around the smaller pitcher and could feel they day's stress drain away. After the opening credits a rather cute green clad fifteen year old spirit detective and his friends began taking names and kicking ass their way across the human world and the spirit world. It was an anime of course, when they were at the Mihashi house it almost always was and to be honest Abe didn't mind. Anime wasn't exactly his thing but it was starting to grow on him. Unfortunately the steely eyed catcher only made it through long enough to see Botan reach Genkai's dojo. Not even a third of the way into the movie and Abe was out cold.

When the morning light woke Abe it took him a second to remember where he was. It was Sunday the fifteenth of February and he was shirtless laying in Ren's bed. Ren, who from what Abe could tell was also shirtless, was snuggling into the catcher's chest. Abe couldn't help but smile as watched the pitcher sleeping peacefully. The catcher didn't know how long he watched his boyfriend sleep, but after a little while the pitcher began to stir. "Good morning," he greeted Ren. "How did you sleep?"

"Mmm…g-good…" Ren replied as he wiped the sleep out of his eyes.

The sounds of life from downstairs and the smell of something cooking told the two boys that it was time for breakfast. Abe kissed his boyfriend good morning before the two got out of bed. Since he had nothing but the clothes he wore yesterday, Abe snagged an old shirt that he had left over at the Mihashi house along with a pair of workout shorts. When they were fully dressed the two Nishiura teammates followed the wonderful scent of breakfast downstairs. Mrs. Mihashi was downstairs in front of the stove making breakfast and greeted the two boys as they took a seat at the table.

Mrs. Mihashi radiated an aura that had all of the kind affection of a mother cat, like a cross between Sleeping Beauty and Mother Teresa. "Good to see you, Abe-kun," she said. "Did you two have a good time on your date last night?"

Abe blanched white with shock while Ren dropped a fork. "I-it w-wasn' a d-date," Ren managed weakly. As he tried to calm himself Abe stole glances at the two Mihashis. Part of the catcher wanted to run out the door as fast as he could, while the other half wished he could shrink into an abysmal nothingness.

But the elder Mihashi continued as if he son's protest was nothing. "You don't have to hide it, Ren," she said, "I really like Abe-kun and you two make a great couple; so I'm ok with it."

Ren and Abe's eyes met for a brief moment. Abe read terror in the azure orbs before Ren looked away again. Questions ran through the catcher's head. How did she find out? How long has she known? So many more that Abe couldn't even identify. But it wasn't his place to ask questions, not here and not now. Again Abe tried to read his boyfriend but the only emotion on the pitcher's ashen face was terror. It was like Ren's mind had gone blank from fear.

Fearing the worst Abe reached out under the table and took Ren's hand, gently stroking the callused palm with his thumb. Ren's hand spasmed back to life rebooting with it the rest of his body. Abe continued to rub Ren's hand until he could see the color flush back into the pitcher's face.

Mrs. Mihashi watched as Abe calmed a terrified Ren. She watched silently as long as she could bear before breaking the silence. "Ren, hun, are you alright?"

At his mother's prompting Abe saw the last signs of life flash into the pitcher's eyes. As if waking from a stupor the Nishiura ace looked around. "Mmm," he groaned in affirmation. He looked back and forth from Abe to his mother for a long moment before settling his fearful gaze back to his mom. "H-how long…have y-you…known?" He asked tentatively.

The smile Mrs. Mihashi wore was the best mom-smile Abe had ever seen. In her one simple gesture she changed the mood of the room from the apprehension of being outed to one of calm serenity. "I've had an idea for about a month now," she explained, "you two were always so close and Ren, you never seemed to talk about girls. It was always about you, Abe-kun. But when I went up to check on you last night it hit me."

"L-last night?" Ren asked.

"I went to check on you and saw you and Abe-kun on the bed together."

Abe wanted to smack himself. They had been outed by such a stupid and simple mistake. He should have known something like this would happen.

Before things could get any more awkward Ren's stomach broke the silence with a loud grumble. Mrs. Mihashi chuckled at her son as Abe let out a silent breath of relief, grateful at the change in subject. "Now I bet you boys are hungry. I made some pancakes so help yourself."

Abe felt a little awkward sitting down and eating pancakes like nothing had happened. Mrs. Mihashi had already said she didn't mind, in fact she said she was happy that it was Abe of all people that was with her son. Would he still feel this strange if Ren was a girl? Then again would the catcher still feel this strange if they had came out together instead of being found out? And yet it was too late to matter. Personally Abe didn't mind coming out to the Mihashi family. They were always nothing but kind to the catcher. His own parents, though, would be a different matter. Abe could only pray that his family was even half as accepting as the Mihashi family.

Breakfast was served with a double helping of awkward and the few meager attempts at changing the atmosphere died in a blaze of glory. After eating Abe informed the Mihashi family that he couldn't stay long due to homework and other obligations but promised Ren that the two would talk about the new development later. Ren seemed shaken and visibly still disturbed by what had happened but he reluctantly agreed.

The catcher decided to wear the spare shirt home instead of the previous evening's attire. The last thing he wanted was for his parents to see him coming home from the Mihashi house decked out in formal attire the day after Valentine's Day. He had already made one stupid mistake this weekend, better not turn stupidity into a disaster. Fortunately for Takaya the only person home was Shun who was glued to the couch watching TV. The catcher nonchalantly snuck past his brother, deleted his message from the answering machine, and climbed the stairs up to his room. He changed into an old pair of sweatpants and a ratty t-shirt in the hope to try to give the allusion that today was just another lazy Sunday.

As the clock ticked the day away Takaya managed to finish his homework and get some fun reading in. By six that evening the catcher heard the garage door open and a car pull into the driveway. His mom was at work, on the hectic schedule that came with being a triage nurse in an understaffed department. She would be working late tonight, which meant that it was his father pulling into the house. Takaya took leave of his bedroom to go downstairs to say hi to his dad whom he hadn't seen since Friday.

Takaya's father grumbled a hello to the catcher as he entered the living room. This was expected of the old man. Long ago Takaya learned that his dad hated working on the weekend, and whenever he came home the older Abe was usually in a bad mood.

"So how was work, dad?" The steely eyed teen asked, hoping the standard of a simple hello and a few minutes of small talk were enough to pacify his dad.

The old man huffed a spiel about how much he hated what he deemed "stupid people". Takaya had heard this rant many times before and knew not to interrupt until it was over. But the fume didn't end at its usual stopping point so it took Takaya by surprise when the old man added, "So, who did you spend Valentine's Day with? I didn't see you this morning and…"

Takaya knew what his dad was getting at. "Oh, me and some guys from the team hung out. Nothing special." Takaya hoped he was nonchalant enough to fool his dad because if not his entire bluff was useless.

"You didn't spend it with your girlfriend?" The elder Abe asked buying the ploy.

Takaya could almost see the minefield before him. "I don't have a girlfriend yet," he stated, praying to anyone deity who would listen that the old man picked up on the key word _yet_.

"Why not? You're on the baseball team. I'm sure you could get just about anyone you wanted."

The urge to say that Takaya already had who he wanted nearly overcame him. Instead, Takaya did what he did best and winged it. "I'm really busy with baseball and stuff. Trying to add a girlfriend to the mix would be too much."

The elder Abe brushed off Takaya's claim like it was nothing. "Pfft. You're not that busy. When I was in the baseball club I had plenty of time to date. You spend too much time with the team; someone your age should be spending more time with girls."

This almost angry reprimand stunned away any sort of retort the steely eyed catcher could come up with. Before the catcher could get his mind back on track his phone beeped.

"Who's that, a girl?" Takaya's dad asked.

Takaya glanced at the LCD display and saw Mihashi's name lit up. By reflex he replied "no, it's just Mihashi." It was in the ensuing pause that Takaya suddenly knew exactly what was going to happen. Like watching two trains steam head on towards each other. Takaya knew what was coming but was powerless to stop it.

"Mihashi? That pitcher?" He demanded. Takaya nodded, to surprised at lighting the fuse to realize that the bomb had blown up. "That just proves my point. You spend too much time with the baseball team."

"No I don't," was the catcher rebuttal.

"You were with that Mihashi kid last night, and now he's already texting you. Doesn't he have a life?"

It was hard for Takaya to keep from getting angry. "He has a lot going on," the catcher articulated as he tried to calm himself.

"Well he better get his shit together. I don't want him costing you guys the spring tournament like he did the summer," the old man scoffed.

Fire pulsed through the catcher. Takaya could feel the flames in his veins, could almost force the hate into a pair of fireballs. It was Takaya who had cost the Nishiura team the tournament, not Mihashi. But that was the least of the catcher's issues. He tried to brush things off, to play down the little quips on Mihashi but the old man didn't get it. It didn't matter how much Takaya was insulted, but when the pitcher was brought up the catcher lost all control. Mihashi was completely off limits. "Are you done?" Takaya asked the sarcasm thick in his voice. "Are you done? Because if you're not I have other things I could be doing. I'd rather not listen to you bash my best friend."

It was a stupid thing to do and Takaya knew it full well. He was provoking his dad who had just had a bad day. Then again, the old man didn't have to make it personal by dragging Mihashi into the picture. "I'll say whatever the hell I want to say," replied the elder Abe, slightly surprised at his son's insolent tone. "This is _my_ house." Then, as if building steam, he continued with, "Now apologize."

Takaya blanched at his father's demand. "You insult my best friend and then try to make _me_ apologize?"

"You do as I say," the old man ordered.

"No!" Takaya countered.

But instead of pissing off his father more the old man's lips crept up into an intrigued smile. "It's about time you grow some balls. Use that to whip that useless little princess you have on the mound into shape and maybe you guys'll win a game or two."

"Fuck you," Takaya hissed lowly. "Don't you dare insult Mihashi. He's a better man than you'll ever be."

"Don't you use that tone with me you scared little shit," the old man warned.

"Or what? You'll call me names? I don't care what you say to me."

With that the elder Abe got to his feet. Takaya was still a few inches shorter than his dad and what had to be almost a hundred pounds less. But the years had packed the pounds onto the old man who was sporting a considerable gut. "But you do care what I say about your little boyfriend, don't you?"

The steely eyed teen collected all the hate, all the anger and fear and emotion he had and spit the words at his father. "That's because I actually _love_ my boyfriend, unlike you. For all I care you can go die in a gutter."

**And and and! What do you all think? The more you review the faster I'll write!**

**~ebob**


	7. Chapter 7

**Sorry it's been so long. I feel terribly leaving all of you with a cliffhanger like that only to take forever and a half to update. I hope this at least makes up for it a little. Let me know what you think of the chapter.**

**~ ebob**

**Chapter 7**

Takaya's heart beat loudly in his ears. He was well aware of the fact that he had just announced to his dad he was gay. But Takaya had reached the point of no return when his dad started badmouthing Mihashi. It was his fault, the catcher knew, for getting so mad and losing control. Everything that would follow would be on the catcher; both the repercussions with his dad and any of the major fallout that was sure to come.

The only thing Takaya heard was his heartbeat, because it was the only thing to hear. It was like the whole world was watching and waiting for what the elder Abe would do. Despite himself and the circumstance Takaya couldn't help but briefly imagine people he had never met sitting on edge waiting with strained patience for the angry bigot that was Takaya's father to make his next move. If the situation wasn't so dire Takaya might just have smiled at his musing.

Then again if Takaya acted fast enough he could potentially play off the whole boyfriend comment as a continuation of the argument. It would require the catcher to not only think carefully and step lightly with his argument, but get all that he wanted to say out in the open before his dad recovered from the shock. "N-now that," the steely eyed teen said as he tried anxiously to think of how to proceed, "um, now that I –"

Too late. The color in his father's face drained white as he blanched with shock. But Takaya watched as his father's blood pressure skyrocketed and his face flushed with color again. The old man who had stood up in order to try and intimidate his son with his full height, now shifted his weight forward until he was balanced and ready to move. Takaya understood the change in poster at once. Now instead of trying to intimidate his son into backing down and apologizing the catcher's father was getting ready to be physical with his son.

The older Abe's mouth opened and closed itself over and over. He looked like a fish out of water, gulping and gulping for the oxygen rich water that wasn't there. But Takaya knew he had pushed the old man past speech. As slowly and as deftly as he could the catcher maneuvered a foot backwards far enough to be a plant foot in case he needed to turn and flee, or as an anchor in case he needed to defend himself.

It was only a slight shift of weight forward that tipped Takaya off. His father had taken a small step closer to his son. A flash followed the small weight shift, and accompanying that flash was a sharp pain and a suddenly fuzzy vision in the catcher's left eye.

Takaya reeled backward, catching himself on the leg he had planted behind him. He hadn't actually thought that his father would do anything violent let alone punch the catcher. "Not only do you disrespect me," the elder Abe fumed, "but then you do this?" With another step forward came another blow. But this time Takaya was ready for it. His father had taken a step forward with his left foot, meaning that he would be hitting with his left hand. Takaya braced himself and threw up his right arm to his head to block the punch. Even though he successfully blocked the punch the force of the blow nearly pushed Takaya off his feet. In a fluid motion too quick for the catcher to reset himself his father's forearm caught Takaya in the chest and sent him twisting and staggering backwards with the force of the blow. Another sharp pain this time rippling up from the leg he had planted caused the younger Abe to gasp in agony before he lost his balance and toppled backwards over the coffee table breaking the wood and glass furnishing.

"Get up," the older Abe hissed at his son.

The catcher propped himself up on his forearms, realizing too late that he was lying on top of the broken glass from the coffee table. Takaya tried to pull himself to his feet but only succeeded in cutting his arms on the splintered glass.

A kick to his side just under the armpit sent the catcher sprawling back onto the crushed table. Another kick to the same exposed location served to reinforce the older man's anger. For a third time Takaya felt his father's foot crash into his torso. But this time Takaya seized the foot as it was drawn away and pulled the foot under his body causing his father's leg to straighten before the pressure against the old man's knee sent him down to the ground.

The moment the floor shook with the weight of the older Abe Takaya rolled away from his father. Despite aching all over and bleeding from wounds made by the broken glass on his side and arms, and from a cut on his face from where his father had punched him the catcher took off for the front door. The younger Abe paused long enough only to pick up his shoes before he streaked out of the house and down the snow covered street.

Only when he was a block away and positive that his father wasn't following him did the catcher slow to a walk. With an unnatural calm the catcher stopped where he was and put on his shoes. It took the steely eyed teen a moment to realize that his feet were to numb to feel how wet and cold his socks had become. The cotton soaking in icy water served as a reminder that Abe had just fled his house while wearing nothing but a pair of sweatpants, a now tattered and ripped t-shirt, and a pair of now wet socks.

Abe was a mess. He was only too keenly aware of the blood on his face and arms, the ache in his body with no definite source, and the sharp pain that flared up in his knee whenever he put pressure on it. And to top it all off Abe was now out in the cold with no phone and nowhere to go. He thought about walking to Mihashi's house but quickly decided that he couldn't just show up out of the blue freezing and covered in blood. Oki's house was the closest to the catcher and he knew that the first baseman would help. But again was the problem of Abe's condition.

A car slowly drove by reminding Abe that he was only a block away from home. With his bum leg he was sure that his dad would be able to catch up to the steely eyed teen if he spotted his son. Even though he had nowhere to go Abe knew that he had to put some distance between himself and home. With a painful limp Abe got his feet moving. He hadn't noticed how cold he was until Abe started moving. The wind was bitter and seemed to cut through his body. The catcher didn't really know where he was going, but he really just wanted some place to get out of the cold.

As he walked gravity of what had happened slowly started to sink Abe. He and his father had just had a huge fight. The catcher had fought with his father before, but never had their quarrels resulted in violence. When Abe confessed his love for Mihashi he had crossed a line. Now even if the catcher did return he could not be sure that he would ever be safe in his own house. There would always be the memory of his father's fist as it smashed into the catcher's eye, of the pain that Takaya felt as he crashed through the coffee table, of his father's malicious kicks that, as far as Abe could tell, held within them the intent to destroy. Did the old man really believe that the feelings his son had could be stomped out like dying embers of a campfire?

Thinking about fire only served to reinforce how cold Abe was. The catcher had pulled his arms into his t-shirt and was tightly hugging himself hoping to hold in some semblance of body heat. But with the wind blowing through his cotton shirt and washing his body in cold air the catcher's attempts at staying warm were all but futile.

A familiar chain linked fence was now standing in front of Abe. Without realizing it the catcher had limped to the Nishiura baseball field. The field was covered in snow that sparkled like trillions of tiny diamonds in the dull yellow streetlights. Seeing the comforting sight gave Abe an idea. One of the dugouts was completely filled with snow that had been blown there by the wind. The other, however, was angled enough to provide shelter from the wind. Since Abe had nowhere else he could he decided he might as well just hide out there.

Once safely out of the biting wind Abe's mind was free to fully process what had just happened. Collapsing against the inside wall of the dugout Abe sat huddled with his head buried in his knees. He had just successfully guaranteed that he could never return home to where his father was. This meant that he was now homeless. Once his face healed to the point where it was no longer bleeding he would be able to face his friends and tell them what happened. But that would take at least a day. And besides, he had school tomorrow. Even if it were possible to hide out here in the dugout for a day or two someone would surely see him tomorrow during school. But then again if Abe stayed in the dugout dressed as he was he would more likely freeze to death before that happened. So instead of him having to put up with the shame and humiliation of being found by a classmate in the dugout cold, hungry, and beat up; Abe would more likely be found as a frozen corpse sitting in the same position he was in now. Then again freezing to death couldn't be that bad. He was already pretty numb and could barely feel the pain. Maybe freezing to death would be a painless solution? No matter what happened if Abe survived he would have to explain what happened to whoever found him and surely to many more people as well. Then he would either have to go home to where his dad was, or Abe would be sent to a foster family which would almost definitely be somewhere away from Nishiura and all of his friends.

It was a lose-lose situation. So why not take the third way out? Already he was feeling a little bit sleepy. Would falling asleep and freezing to death really be this painless? This easy? Then again if he did take the third option he would surely be leaving people behind. Hanai and Tajima, Izumi and Oki, Sakaeguchi and the rest of the baseball team; Coach Momoe and Shiga-Sensei; Shinooka and the cheery old lady at Furikawa; and…and…

"Mi-Miha…shi," Abe murmured, his blue lips struggling to pronounce his soul mate's name. Could he really do this to Mihashi? Could Abe really just leave like this? It was a sobering thought. The others…the others Abe could probably leave. It would be hard to leave them behind, but possible. With time they would all move on. But Mihashi? Abe thought about what would happen if he died and left Mihashi behind. Abe needed Mihashi, and in the same way knew that Mihashi needed Abe too. If the catcher were to die Abe knew that Mihashi would more likely than not follow suit. And even on the chance that the pitcher didn't try to follow Abe into the afterlife the catcher's passing would leave Mihashi emotionally disfigured and crippled for life. Could Abe really be that cruel? Could he intentionally cause Mihashi that kind of pain?

The strain on Abe's mind was too much. He could feel his brain start to shut off. For the second time tonight Abe had paralyzed himself by thinking when it mattered most. His body was too tired to move, too exhausted to find the warmth that would ultimately keep the catcher alive to see his boyfriend's face again. As the last threads of consciousness were snipped Abe couldn't help but wonder if Mihashi would forgive him. "Let Mihashi…be happy," Abe managed before he gave in to the throngs of sleep.

Hanai had gotten the call from a worried sounding Sakaeguchi. Apparently Abe and his father had gotten into a fight and Abe stormed out. The second baseman had gotten a call from Abe's younger brother Shun on his older brother's mobile asking Sakaeguchi if he had seen Abe. By the time Sakaeguchi had called Hanai looking for Abe the assistant captain had called everyone on his side of town looking for the catcher and all had turned up empty. Hanai began to imagine how Mihashi must be reacting to the news, but quickly shook the depressing thought out of his head.

The moment he hung up with Sakaeguchi Hanai flipped open his phone and sent out an executive order via mail. _Abe's gone. hlp search if u can. keep me posted._

By now Abe could potentially be anywhere in the city. Shun had told Sakaeguchi that Abe left his mobile, wallet and everything at home. That ruled out anything that would require a train to get to. But that also meant that Abe was most likely not in any place warm like a hotel or a shop or something. Hanai quickly changed out of his gym shorts and t-shirt and into some winter clothes. As he descended the stairs the right fielder was stopped by his parents. "Where are you going this late at night?" His mom asked.

"Team emergency," the captain called back to his parents while he put on his shoes. "I'll explain later." Before his parents could ask any further Hanai was out the door.

Hanai didn't really know where Abe would run off to. It would have been an obvious choice to Hanai for Abe to go to Mihashi's house or even Oki's. But nobody on the team had seen nor heard from Abe at all. The catcher didn't have anything with him. And since it was cold and windy outside the catcher would have definitely taken refuge from the wind. The fact that Abe hadn't taken his wallet or mobile with him worried Hanai greatly. It meant that this wasn't just a fight or some small matter. Something big had to have happened to make someone as intelligent as Abe leave every practical urban survival tool at home. Abe had no money and no phone; he was upset, and probably freezing his butt off. So where would he go? If Hanai was in Abe's shoes he would probably want to go someplace comforting, someplace where he could be alone and process what had just happened. Abe had no money so he wouldn't be inside a building, it would be too awkward and since he had just gotten into a fight Abe wouldn't want to be around people. So where could Abe go that both would make him feel at ease and was empty of people?

"He's at school," Hanai murmured to himself. But the building would be locked. No, Abe wouldn't at school; he'd be on the school grounds. The baseball field.

It took Hanai ten minutes to jog to school. The place was deserted. He listened quietly for any sign of life. But the only sound that Hanai heard was the wind as it whistled around him. Instinctively the right fielder shivered. Why would Abe be at the baseball field? It was nothing but wide open space. There was nothing around to block the wind. Nothing except for…

Hanai paused for a second to check the direction of the wind. Quickly he sprinted to the third base dugout, the one which would partially block the wind. Hanai threw himself around the corner and scanned the dugout. There he was, in a corner of the dugout sheltered from the wind was Abe. He had his head buried in his knees and his arms tucked into his t-shirt. Abe wasn't moving, and from the way he was sitting Hanai almost mistook his grey sweats for part of the snowy ground and his jet black hair for another shadow. But there he was, found at last.

He was by the catcher's side in a flash. Hanai tried to rouse Abe but the catcher was unresponsive. When Hanai put his hand on the back of the catcher's neck to shake Abe awake he found the exposed skin to be much colder than it should be. Before he knew what he was doing Hanai's hand was around the catcher's neck feeling for a pulse. The skin here was cold too, and the captain was starting to fear the worst. How would he tell everyone that Abe was dead? How _could_ he tell everyone? More than anything else in the world Hanai wished to feel some sort of response from Abe. Just something would do. Anything.

Tears started to mist up in Hanai's eyes. Could the human body really go this long without a heartbeat? As the first tear of what was sure to be many formed at the corner of the right fielder's eye and slid down his cheek Hanai felt the unmistakable bum-bump of a pulse. Hanai heard rather than felt the breath he had trapped in his lungs escape his mouth. Abe was as best as Hanai could tell still alive. Judging by the condition the catcher was in he had been out here for some time. Right now what he needed was to be warmed up as fast as possible. Hanai took off his sweatshirt. If he put it on Abe, the catcher would eventually warm up as his body heat was trapped by the heavy cloth. But that would take too long. Instead of waiting for Abe to warm himself up Hanai needed to get Abe warm now. Hanai gently moved Abe's head off of his knees so that he was no longer hunched over and saw to his horror that Abe's face was smeared by caked on blood that had flowed from a large cut above his left eye. He knew now that the fight Abe had had with his father must have been over something serious.

Turning his attention to removing the cold t-shirt Hanai noticed that the shirt was ripped and it too had blood stains on it. Hanai tried to pull the shirt off of Abe but couldn't manage it without severely jostling the catcher. Instead Hanai resigned himself to seizing a large hole rimmed with dried blood and ripped the shirt until it could be removed from the catcher. Dotting Abe's sides were darkened splotches which looked a bit like the one on the catcher's face. The catcher's arms were wrapped tightly around his body and these had even more cuts and dried blood on them than Abe's body had. Hanai cursed out loud before getting low and wrapping the catcher into a big bear hug. A cold shiver ran through the right fielder's warm body as his skin came into contact with the icy skin of his teammate. Then while breaking contact between himself and the catcher as little as possible Hanai wrapped his sweat shirt around the two of them.

Finally Hanai pulled his mobile out of the pocket of his sweat pants. His cold fingers punched in the number for emergency help. A short minute later Hanai had an ambulance on its way. Within another minute's time Hanai had sent out another mail to the rest of the baseball team telling them that he had found Abe at the baseball field and that they should meet him at the hospital in a half hour.

Seconds after hitting send he heard the faint ringing a mobile receiving a new mail. The crunching of snow told Hanai that he would soon be having company. A moment later Izumi came around the corner. Izumi's eyes bugged out as he took in the sight of the catcher wrapped in the right fielder's arms. "Is he alright?" Izumi said exasperatedly.

Hanai didn't know how to react. Would Izumi flip out if the captain didn't reassure him? He would just have to see. "He's still really cold," Hanai breathed, "But I think he'll be fine. He was unconscious when I got here and hasn't woken up since."

"Ha-have you, um…" Izumi trialed off.

"I called an ambulance. It should be here pretty soon," Hanai replied.

The two teammates were silent as they waited for the ambulance together. The fifteen minutes it took for the ambulance to arrive felt to the two fifteen year olds like fifteen eternities. Both wished desperately for something or someone to break the stifling silence but neither wanted to be the one. Finally the roar of a siren grew steadily louder as the ambulance approached and by the time the flashing lights of the emergency vehicle lit up the opposing dugout with red flashing lights Hanai was feeling uncomfortable. Had he made the right choice in taking off Abe's shirt? Should Hanai have given Abe the sweatshirt instead? What would the paramedics say when the saw the three of them huddled together?

In a more controlled manner than Izumi two paramedics carrying a gurney rounded the corner to face the dugout. Hanai watched as their eyes, illuminated by the flashing red lights and the dull yellow street lamps flickered from Izumi to himself and then to Abe. Hanai felt like he had to say something, to offer some sort of an explanation. "He's cold," said the right fielder simply. "But I can feel his heart beat faintly."

"How long has he been out here?" Asked the taller of the two paramedics. Hanai expected a man's deep voice but was surprised to hear the high tenor of a woman.

"I, I don't know," said Hanai. Even though there was no way he could have known for certain how long Abe had been gone Hanai still felt like he was letting the paramedics down with his answer. As an afterthought he added, "At least an hour I think. He, he was really cold when I first got here. Really cold."

The two paramedics got to work, their expressions never wavering from that resembling a boring day at the office. It was as if taking care of a nearly frozen fifteen year old boy with cuts and blood all over his body was dull or mundane. In no time the two paramedics had Abe secured onto the gurney and had carried him into the ambulance. Hanai began to follow the female paramedic into the back of the ambulance when her stare stopped him. "Only family can ride in the back," she said coolly.

"We're his cousins," Izumi lied casually.

The female paramedic looked at Izumi, then at Hanai, and finally at Abe. The three looked nothing alike and she must have known that. But her mouth flicked into a faint smile and she said, "Get in quickly."

Hanai and Izumi both clambered into the back of the ambulance and found themselves drilled with a series of questions the moment the door closed. As she worked over Abe checking vitals the female paramedic asked about anything and everything relevant to Abe's condition. Hanai found himself sounding pathetically weak. He knew very little about why Abe had taken off, and hated revealing this to the paramedic. So he was thankful when the vehicle came to a stop and the back door opened up. A few people dressed in hospital scrubs helped the paramedics pull Abe's gurney out of the ambulance while another ushered Hanai and Izumi through a long series of hallways until they entered a lobby with seven worried looking teenage boys, a tall chestnut-haired young woman talking softly to a high school girl, half a dozen concerned parents, and in the center of the crowd was a catatonic honey-haired boy that everyone seemed to be avoiding.

The captain slowed down to let Izumi enter the lobby first. They would all be expecting him to say something about Abe. Everyone would want Hanai to say that the catcher was fine. But what was there to say? Hanai had no clue how Abe was doing. The only thing he knew that the others didn't was that Abe's skin was cold, much colder than it should be. He was going to let them down. Here was the valiant savior of Abe, the one who found him and got him to the hospital. In walked Hanai, who had to look at the faces of his teammates, into the eyes of Mihashi, and tell them all that he didn't know.

As his face scanned the crowd Hanai was somewhat comforted to see that amongst his teammates were Coach Momoe, Shinooka, and Hamada. He tried to smile at the group but couldn't muster the effort, instead allowing his face to sink even lower. Coach Momoe looked up to see Hanai looking at her and Shinooka. The coach didn't smile to Hanai, didn't try to reassure him in any way. Instead she just stared at him. So Hanai just stared back, transfixing his eyes on the woman's face.

His stare was so intense that Hanai didn't see Shinooka dart across the room and lock her arms around Hanai while she buried her head into his chest. Before he looked away the right fielder saw the coach's lips curl into a faint smile. "H-Hanai-kun," Shinooka sobbed. "How, how is he?"

The team manager had just asked the question that was on everybody's mind, and they showed it by focusing their attention on the captain. But having Shinooka hugging him tightly felt good, felt warm. He remembered all too clearly how cold Abe had been when Hanai pressed his chest against the catcher's back in an effort to warm the raven haired teen up. "I, I don't know," Hanai said plainly. He judged that it was best to say as little as possible in this situation. After all, ignorance is bliss, and having Hanai give his own commentary wouldn't help the situation at all.

Shinooka tightened her grip on Hanai's chest. Feeling like he needed to do something Hanai wrapped his arms around the team's manager returning her hug. "C-come on Shinooka-chan, let's go take a seat," Hanai murmured as he started to feel hyperaware of all of the eyes on him. Keeping an arm around the baseball team manager Hanai lead the way over to an empty pair of seats. The moment he and Shinooka were seated the team manager caught Hanai's arm and wrapped it into a tight hug. Hanai couldn't help but get the feeling that by holding onto the captain's arm Shinooka was in a way holding onto her sanity.

The wait was murdering Hanai. Desperately he wanted someone to say something. He wanted some sort of distraction or anything to break the heavy air. Everyone in the room was unnaturally still. Even Tajima who was usually so full of energy was barely moving. Worst of all was Mihashi. He was gone. And Hanai couldn't blame him. After watching the battery's relationship develop Hanai was actually kind of surprised that Mihashi wasn't in a hospital bed himself right now.

Hanai didn't know how much time had passed since he and Izumi first entered the lobby. His mobile didn't have any reception so he had no clue what time it was. Hanai desperately wanted there to be a clock in the room; something analog with a faint tick tick ticking sound to break the seemingly indestructible silence. But even more Hanai wanted something safe to look at. He wanted to be alone with his thoughts, but wherever he looked Hanai was invariably looking at either one of his teammates or one of their parents. For a moment the right fielder thought about closing his eyes but was scared of having to revisit the moment when he first came across the catcher huddled into a ball in the dark dugout.

What seemed to Hanai like years slowly ticked by in the mental clock Hanai had made up to occupy his mind. As his mind pronounced each tick of the second hand he came to notice that the tick tick tick had become a clump clump clump of hard soled shoes on the laminate floor. At first Hanai thought he was imagining the noise, so desperate in his hope for a distraction the he was beginning to hallucinate the coming distraction that he had been praying for. But when the double doors he and Izumi had passed through, how long ago?, opened revealing a pair of women all the heads in the room snapped to attention. The woman in the lead was dressed in the typical magenta scrubs of the hospital's nursing staff. The other woman was wearing blue jeans and had a head full of tousled jet black hair matted over the shoulders of the same magenta top as the woman next to her.

The room was quiet with all attention on the two women. The one in the full scrubs uniform seemed to disappear into herself, as if she was trying her best to both stand by her fellow nurse while making an honest attempt at disappearing into herself. Hanai then turned his gaze to the semi-uniformed nurse with the jet black hair. She was taller than average, and on any other day would look very motherly and soothing. But Hanai couldn't read her expression. It was as if an immense stress had chiseled away her features until all that was left were faraway eyes sunk deep into puffy and pink swollen sockets coloring an otherwise sallow and ghastly face. Her nearly dead eyes slowly shifted from person to person throughout the lobby until they found their target, laying to rest on a rather birdlike orange haired lady who had her arms wrapped around her dirty blond haired son.

**So what do you think? Let's hope that I can get the next chapter out sooner than this one. I'm student teaching atm (don't recommend it) so I'm busier than hell. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please review and let me know what you think. I swear sometimes these reviews are the only thing that keeps me going.**

**~ ebob**


	8. Chapter 8

**Alrighty, sorry for the fake-post. When I posted this before it was only about ¾ done and wasn't qc'd or, really, coherent. I apologize to all of those whose hopes I got up (please don't hate me…please?). I hope you enjoy.**

**~ebob**

**Chapter 08**

Mrs. Abe's face was dead. It showed no emotion despite the situation, which surprised Hanai. He was expecting…what? Maybe desperation? Something like 'oh where's my Takaya'? What about anger? Then again there wasn't really anyone to blame except for the old bastard who did this to the catcher. Surprise? Hurt? Fear? Whatever emotion the catcher's mother could have shown would have been a better substitution for the emotionless visage.

Instead she continued her blank stare. Mrs. Abe's dark brown eyes held for a long minute connected to Mrs. Mihashi's watery azure. Nothing changed in the brown eyed woman's features. But when the dark brown eyes did the slow creep down to Ren the elder Abe's face broke into a calm and measured mask hiding her true feelings. Everyone in the lobby continued to watch the two. Scenarios began to play through Hanai's head. Would Mrs. Abe be pissed at Mrs. Mihashi? If she was mad what would the catcher's mother do? If she started yelling how would Hanai handle it? Would Coach Momoe step in? If she didn't then what would Hanai do?

"May I talk to you, Mihashi-san, out in the hall?" The flat voice of Mrs. Abe asked.

The pitcher's mother looked for a long moment at her son before she got up and followed the other woman out into the hall. When the doors swung close Hanai's eyes began to scan the room again looking to see anyone else was as nervous as he was. Hanai didn't think anything would happen, but Mrs. Abe looked like she was about ready to snap. But when his eyes swept the middle of the room and fell onto the pitcher sitting all alone, his face slackened and lifeless. It looked like the pitcher had checked out of his body or at the very least had gone full catatonic and was probably beyond the point of going crazy. Hanai tugged his arm away from the manager, which earned the captain a questioning look. "Shinooka," he whispered, "please, do me a favor. Go over and sit with Mihashi. Comfort him any way you can."

The manager's eyes were already starting to tear up. "Wh-what are y-you gonna do?" She asked as she tried to hold back her tears.

Hanai took a deep breath. "I, I don't really know," he replied truthfully. "But I gotta do something. Maybe Oki's mom knows where Abe is or knows how he's doing. Either way I gotta do something." Hanai gave the manager a meaningful look and rose to his feet. The moment he stood up the captain felt the eyes of the room on him. Acting as if nobody was paying attention Hanai turned to Shinooka and offered his hand. When the manager took his offer Hanai pulled Shinooka to her feet and into an embrace. "Thank you," he murmured before letting the scarlet faced girl go.

As his hand slipped from hers Hanai felt himself renewed with a new sense of responsibility and strength. When he had found Abe in the dugout the catcher had been legitimately near death. This had scared the crap out of Hanai and he let that fear show in his voice and in his actions. But now the time for being scared was over. This thing with Shinooka may only be a temporary spur-of-the-moment thing, but then again it just might lead to something more concrete. Surely she had given him maybe not the strength to take charge, but she definitely had shown him what it could happen if the situation continued. A little more than twenty minutes had passed since Hanai and Izumi arrived with the ambulance but to the captain his mental clock felt more like a calendar.

He was unsure of himself as he walked over to the Oki and his mother. What would he say? Hanai wanted to flat out demand to know where the catcher was and how he was doing. Then again that kind of approach never worked and was downright rude. Now that he was already on his way over to the first baseman it was too late to reconsider. Hanai scrambled but now he was in front of the two Okis and out of time. "Um, Oki-san?" the captain asked wishing he had some sort of script. "Do you, um, know anything about Abe? Is he gonna be alright?"

With this Hanai had the attention of everyone in the room. The first baseman's mom smiled at the right fielder. "I don't know. Right now the doctor's waiting for results from the lab." Everything about Mrs. Oki was aimed at reassuring Hanai and the others who were paying attention. But as Hanai looked into the woman's eyes he found the uncertainty and fear that betrayed her real opinion.

It was decision time again for Hanai. Being the only one doing anything was tough, and Hanai wished that right now he wasn't the captain. He took a shallow breath and transformed his face into a reassured smile. "I'm sure your right," he said a little louder than was necessary for someone standing so close. But Hanai wasn't only talking to the Okis. He knew that everyone in the room was paying attention and he wanted all of those eavesdroppers to hear what he had to say. "Abe's a tough kid," Hanai continued, this time allowing confidence to build in his voice. "Whatever it is, he'll get over it."

Takaya stirred in his sleep. The dream he was having, a mental recap of the weekend, came to the events of Sunday night. The catcher saw the night's events as if here was the audience watching a reenactment. From this new perspective Takaya watched as every word he yelled at his father made the man angrier and angrier until Takaya dropped the final bomb. …_I actually love my boyfriend, unlike you. For all I care you can go die in a gutter_… From where Takaya was floating in his dream he watched as the words struck their target as if shot from a gun. It was the first part of the statement that threw the older Abe over the edge. It was a completely true statement, as far as the two Abes were concerned. After the way his father had acted towards the pitcher Takaya couldn't take it anymore. This man, who only cared about baseball, had forced Takaya to make a choice; which the catcher made. The second part of the statement was only there to highlight the first part.

Yet the way the night's events turned sour was almost comedic. Takaya watched then the fight that broke out between the two. Every blow that fell onto the catcher seemed to burn with new agony as he watched himself get beaten to a pulp before escaping the house. Abe floated beside his dream self as the dream-Abe swayed and stumbled to the Nishiura dugout. Low and behold it was now Takaya who had made it into, albeit not exactly a gutter but close enough, and had resigned himself to the fates. Even in his dream Abe could feel the clouds of cold and sleep start to blur his vision.

It was weird though. Abe remembered being too numb to feel any pain from his wounds. Yet as the haze filled the catcher's mind whiting out the dream the only remainder was a dull throbbing of pain in his arms, chest, and head. Dreams weren't supposed to hurt. Then again, if this was a dream then wasn't Abe supposed to see his life flash before his eyes or something? That's what everyone said in the movies and everything, that when you die your life flashes before your eyes and you see yourself grow and mature until the time of your death. All Abe saw as the few short hours the lead up to his death.

"What a rip," the catcher moaned. But the moan sounded weird and muffled. It felt like there was a hand cupped over his mouth as if someone was deciding whether or not to smother Abe. For a brief second his father's face flashed into his mind. The old man had already killed the catcher, and now he had followed Takaya into the afterlife to continue his torment. The raven haired catcher tried to rip the old man's hand away from Takaya's mouth and nose so he could breathe normally. But despite Takaya's attempts his body wouldn't move. Was this the paralysis of death? Or had the elder Abe, the man who had called himself Takaya's father, gone and tied Takaya's body down somehow? Either way the catcher couldn't move. He tried to scream, to call out, but he couldn't take a deep breath. The little bit of noise he did make was faint and again muffled by the overpowering hand.

Even in death the elder Abe would not let his son rest. What kind of face was the old man making? Was he angry at Takaya for being gay? Was he finding pleasure in torturing his son? Or was the old man as sad as Takaya, choking back tears yet unable to stop himself? Takaya had to see, had to know what his father was thinking.

Takaya's eyes flittered open only to be met with a bright stinging light. "Not…fair," Abe moaned again in the same strained and muffled groan. First he didn't get a proper flashback of his life and now even though he was dead Abe was still able to feel pain. It took the catcher a long second before his eyes adjusted to the light. Once they did he was surprised at what lay before him. The bright light that tortured his eyes was nothing but the fluorescent lighting in the strange room he was in. And the smothering sensation that Abe felt was not that of his father's hand but of some plastic fitting covering his mouth and nose. Off in the distance Abe could hear the faint beep beep beep of machinery and even fainter still came into his quiet room the sounds of muted footsteps passing by outside. Yet despite all this the steely eyed catcher still had no idea where he was. Instead all he was able to piece together in his still foggy mind was that he was in fact not dead, that he was in some weird room with some plastic thing over his face, and that his body hurt. "Oh," the catcher managed before his eyes, tired from the strain, closed again.

When Abe woke again it was to the conversation of hushed voices. He winced as consciousness brought with it the dull yet persistent and annoying ache that had been there the night previous. He was in a different room this time. The fluorescent light that had been almost blinding was now gone, replaced by a softer mixture of refreshing sunlight and lamplight. Abe looked around for what had woke him and found that while the pain in his arms, chest, and head was only a dull ache he still was able to do little more than look around. Standing at the foot of Abe's bed was a pair of people dressed in medical scrubs and talking in restrained voices. The catcher's vision was a bit blurry making it difficult for the Abe to see clearly, but from what he could make out the duo had somewhat pained expressions on their faces. Abe tried to sit up for a better view but couldn't muster himself past the pain. A groan of frustration and agony escaped his mouth and caused the two medical personnel to stop their hushed conversation.

Immediately the two people moved. One flew to the machinery next to Abe's bed while another with hair the color of midnight was instantly at the catcher's side. He was only vaguely aware of the woman checking the machines next to the bed. Instead the steely eyed catcher focused his attention on the familiar looking woman standing over him. Abe's steely eyes were clouded with the stupor that came with his ordeal making the woman hard to make out even when she was standing right next to him. Her lips were moving frantically but the steely eyed teen couldn't comprehend what she was saying. He looked at her for a long moment as she spoke. Finally the woman gave up and broke into tears before wrapping her arms around the catcher. Abe tried to pat the woman on the back or comfort her in some way but could not move his arms. The warmth of her hug and the smell that lingered about her made the catcher feel calm, almost nostalgic. He found himself smiling at the familiar looking woman trying to reflect her kindness. On reflex Abe's moaned out a single monosyllabic word. "Mom."

At this the woman started to sob. Takaya didn't know how long he laid there with his mother sobbing over him, but as time passed the catcher's senses started to return to him. His steely eyes could now clearly make out his mom hugging him closely, could hear with absolute certainty her cries of "I'm so happy", "I love you", and, for some unknown reason, "I'm so sorry". He also became aware of the other nurse, a familiar looking woman who he had seen several times at baseball games whom he recognized as Mrs. Oki. The catcher gave his friend's mom a thankful yet bashful smile. She replied with a kind, motherly smile before slipping quietly from the room.

"M-mom I –," Takaya managed.

"Shh," she hushed, "it's alright, I-I already know." What did she already know? The catcher didn't even know himself what he was going to say. "I t-talk to Mihashi-san last n-night and she t-told me everyth-thing."

"But dad –," Takaya started again.

"Gone," she replied indifferently.

This surprised the catcher. How could she sound so…so…uncaring? Takaya looked at his mother for a long moment trying to detect on her face anything contrary to what she was saying but his steely eyes found nothing betraying.

After calming herself down a little the elder Abe mistook the expression on her son's face and decided to answer the question he wasn't asking. "Shun called me shortly after you left and told me what happened. I immediately left work and went out to look for you but couldn't find you anywhere. I was going crazy until Hanai-kun called your cell phone and said that he found you."

Takaya didn't know what to say. If she had already talked to Mrs. Mihashi then the elder Abe must know about his relationship with the pitcher. Yet despite knowing that she was here showing her son love. That was one obstacle that Takaya would not have to overcome. However, the catcher couldn't possible return home if a certain someone was still around. He hated having to break the great atmosphere, but it was a question that Takaya had to ask. "Mom, what about…about…"

As he expected a shadow passed across his mother's face. The older woman did her best to cover up her reaction with a smile, but Takaya had seen the shadow. "Gone. When I came from work to look for you I stopped at home to pick up Shun. We had a fight and after that he hasn't been back since."

The news didn't hit Takaya as hard as he expected, but for some reason that made things worse. He would have a home to come back to, which was great. But the fact still remained that Takaya's father was gone. Surely his mom must be feeling some sort of loss, of regret?

"I didn't want to say anything before, but I feel like now is the best time to tell you," the elder Abe continued, "not while you and Shun are still so young. But, well…"

"Mom what is it?"

"Your father and I had been talking for a few years now; about getting a divorce."

"Why?" Takaya asked on reflex.

Takaya gazed up into his mother's eyes to find them cold, as if iced over. "It became clearer over the past few years that our marriage was doomed. We jumped into marriage way too fast. We thought that once we tied the knot then everything would be fine. It was a mistake and we both began to realize it. We tried to hide it from you and Shun, but it only ended up causing the both of you more pain then we realized."

A bright light flashed through the catcher's mind. He had been staring at the evidence for a while now; tossing and turning the facts over and over in his head trying to piece them together but to no avail. But now with his mom's admission Takaya was able to take the necessary step back and see the whole picture. The constant tension that was always present when both parents were at home, the way his mom and dad blatantly avoided each other. It was, well not exactly obvious, but more a possibility Takaya had never considered.

"Your father's vanished, but when he turns up he'll have a nice big stack of divorce papers to attend to."

"Mmm," the catcher murmured absentmindedly. Another issue was turning itself over in his mind. He would get over this; maybe even with little lasting damage. But what about her? "Mom," he probed.

"Yes hun?"

"How are you doing? Are you fine with all of this?"

"Of course I am. Both my boys are safe and you're going to be fine," she replied matter of factly.

His mother's face told Takaya that she was indeed lying. However, he was no position to press her on the matter given the fact that he couldn't move at the moment. Maybe, and Takaya knew he would need a whole lot of luck for this one, but maybe his mom was actually stronger than he thought? "Mom,"

"Yes?"

"Thank you."

The older woman chuckled, a sound which spread a little relief through the catcher's aching body. "Don't just thank me. You have some great friends on that baseball team. Hanai-kun and the rest really helped out a lot."

It was a true statement, the catcher knew. Every member of the team had gone out of their way to look for him, and it was sure that if the same thing happened to anyone else Takaya would have done the same thing. At school the Nishiura baseball club was an almost impenetrable clique of what started as ten normal but weirdo-leaning high school freshmen, but after the feats of the summer tournament the ten baseball fanatics were the sovereigns of the school. There were no secrets between them. But what about the rest of the school? It was Monday and Takaya was in the hospital instead of his desk at school and it was more than likely that he wouldn't be back in school until Thursday at the earliest, and when he did return there were the cuts on his face and arms that would have to be explained. It wasn't as if he could tell the school that his father had gone crazy because he came out to the old man. Personally he was getting fed up with all of the hiding and didn't really care what other's thought of him. But despite his feelings there was no way that he would put Mihashi though that kind of torment. It would be easier to stay in the closet at school.

But he had to tell his classmates something. And whatever story he told would have to cover his dad leaving as well as stint in the hospital. The catcher didn't feel too particularly bad about making something bad up about his father. Hell, whatever the story was it would be more favorable than the truth. So Abe passed the next few hours unable to do much more than change the channels on the TV and think of something that might work as an excuse. His mom stopped in every now and then along with Mrs. Oki. He was happy to see Mrs. Oki's familiar kindly face. The steely eyed teen wasn't sure if the first baseman's mother knew exactly what had transpired to land the catcher in the hospital, but since she was nice Abe figured that it didn't matter either way.

It was half past three when a commotion in the hall forewarned Abe of the arrival of his teammates and close friends. The whole baseball team was there along with Hamada, Izumi's girlfriend Aizawa, Shinooka, and Suyama's girlfriend Elizabeth; the latter three all sporting vases of brightly colored flowers. Abe was really happy to see his friends and they reflected his jubilance. When the thirteen visitors were all settled in Abe managed to get them all quiet. "I really wanna thank you guys for what you did," the catcher started. But as the thought of what had happened washed over him Abe's eyes began to mist up. Fighting back the tears he truncated his little speech and ended it with "I'm really grateful, I don't really know what to say."

"You can start with what happened," Tajima blurted out.

"The hell?" Hanai chided the third baseman. He reached out to smack the shorter teen but was beaten to the beating by Nishihiro.

"Gotch'er back, boss," Nishihiro commented offhand. Abe looked at the goofy way the genius was smiling. It was his usual smile, but something felt like it clicked for the catcher. If Hanai would have hit Tajima it would have been things as usual and Tajima's request would still be hanging in the air. But since Nishihiro stepped in he took attention away from Tajima's question. Then again Abe could just be over thinking things again.

The valiant attempt of Nishihiro to sidestep Tajima's question was, I became clear to Abe, relatively useless. The hunger for knowledge burned on the faces of more than just the sporadic third baseman. "Don't worry, I don't mind telling you guys," the steely eyed catcher replied before he dove into what had happened. However he left out the fact that he had spent the night at pitcher's house. Abe had no real aversion to telling his friends the story in its entirety, but something about that information made the catcher feel like it was too private to share with the group. He also kept secret what went through his mind as he tried to huddle for warmth. There was no need to unleash the onslaught that his insecurities would cause.

When he finished with a cheery "I should be fine in a few weeks" Abe found a rainbow of expressions looking back at him. Most were a mixture of awe and shock, a very understandable reaction judging by what Abe had divulged. Mihashi had nothing but pure unadulterated love beaming from his face, which Abe was more than happy to reflect. But what the catcher saw on Hanai and Nishihiro's faces did not bode well. He studied his two teammates trying to ascertain why they looked more worried than relieved. Had their minds, some of the best in the freshmen class, found something not to be thankful for?

Nishihiro broke the silence that formed after Abe's story and got right to the weight that was bogging down Abe's mind. "So…when someone asks where you've been, whatchya gonna tell'em?"

Abe's face blanched white. "Um…to be honest I really don't know. I've been trying to think of something but I don't wanna say too much."

"Whatd'ya mean 'too much', Abe?" Hamada asked.

"People at school are going to ask questions," Izumi replied. "A couple of people have already asked me. When it gets out that Abe was in the hospital, people are going to want to know why."

"And depending on what Abe says happened, people might guess at a few things," Nishihiro replied.

"Ooo! I know," Tajima ejaculated. "He got sick."

"Then what about the cuts on his face and arms?" Mizutani countered.

"Car accident?" Aizawa offered.

Nishihiro shook his head. "No, that would probably have been in the news. Besides, if it was a car accident then why is only Abe in the hospital and not his mom or brother?"

"He fell," Suyama said plainly.

"What, out of a tree or something," Aizawa said sarcastically.

Suyama smiled. "We don't really need to make up some huge story about what happened. Instead, we just need to be a bit…selective about how it's told."

"What's your idea, Su?" Abe questioned.

"You slipped coming down the stairs and smashed into something at the bottom. No mention of anything."

"Genius," Nishihiro complimented. "You can attribute all of your cuts and crap to the cabinet or armoire or whatever that you hit."

The knowledge that he had an excuse was uplifting to the catcher. Yet with that problem solved and new question came to Abe's mind. They knew what happened before he left home. But what had happened after he had passed out? "So I told you all what happened to me before I left. What happened after that?" It was more than a fair question, but for some reason nobody spoke up. Abe just looked around the group of visitors waiting for someone to fill him in.

Finally Sakaeguchi spoke up. "Soon after you left your brother Shun called me from your mobile and told me what happened. Then I let everyone know that something happened to you."

The catcher paused for a moment waiting for the second baseman to continue. When the timid teen stayed silent Abe prodded for more information. "What happened then?"

"I got a text from Hanai saying that he found you in the dugouts and to meet him at the hospital," Sakaeguchi replied. "Then half an hour later he and Izumi arrived with the ambulance. I don't really know what happened in the meantime."

"Oh," Abe replied. He was grateful that Sakaeguchi had filled him in, but wondered why Hanai hadn't said anything. He was the captain after all, not to mention the one that found Abe. So the catcher looked at the right fielder expectantly, hoping to pry out anything that could fill in the remaining gaps.

"Yeah," Sakaeguchi continued, "actually I don't think Hanai told us anything. Just that he found you and called an ambulance."

Finally the captain gave in to the peer pressure. "Alright, alright," he conceded. "When I got Sak's text I tried to think of where you might be. I knew you didn't have your cell, which meant that most likely didn't leave by choice and that you probably didn't have your wallet with you. That meant that you most likely wouldn't be anyplace indoors or around people. But if you left in such a hurry something really bad must have happened meaning that you might want to go someplace comfortable. The only place I could think of for you to be that was outdoors with not a lot people around and comforting was the school. It took me a few minutes to get there and when I showed up I found you in the dugout," Hanai finished matter-of-factly.

Abe thought for a moment. "I don't remember hearing your footsteps or anything so I must have passed out before you got there."

Hanai's face grew heavy. "Yeah," he agreed. "You were out of it when I showed up. It freaked the shit out of me. All you had on was a pair of sweatpants and a ripped t-shirt frozen in blood."

The room was silent as they took in what the right fielder had described.

"And you were cold," Hanai continued, his voice trailing off. "Really, really cold…" He shuddered as if the memory could be erased like an etch-a-sketch. "You weren't even shivering anymore and your lips were blue," he went on, "seeing you like that, it scared the shit out of me."

"So what did you do?" Shinooka asked, her eyes bulging with curiosity and anxiety.

"I," Hanai started but paused for a moment to think before his cheeks flushed a light shade of pink.

Izumi snorted with laughter breaking the morose mood. It was a terrible time to laugh, Izumi knew, but what the hell? Abe was safe and sound so why not try to lighten things up a bit? Everyone flashed their attention onto the speedy center fielder for clarification while Hanai's face turned strawberry red. "Either you explain it," he managed through gasps, "or I tell it how I saw it."

"Fine, I got it," Hanai snapped back. "Remember you were really cold, and I was really scared."

"And? And?" Tajima asked in the excited way only he could manage.

"I warmed you up," Hanai answered with finality.

Izumi, already knowing the answer but thoroughly enjoying the harassment he was putting Hanai through, asked the question before anyone else could. "How?"

By now even the tips of Hanai's ears were scarlet. "I took off our shirts and wrapped my sweatshirt around both of us."

"No way!" Tajima blurted out.

"When I got there I found both Hanai shirtless with his bare chest pressed against Abe's bare back."

"No way…" Mizutani echoed.

"Yeah," Izumi continued, "and he was hugging Abe so lovingly too."

"I had to warm him up quickly!" Hanai retorted trying to defend himself. "That was the best way."

"What, with your love?" Hamada chuckled.

"Hanai-kun, I didn't know you were like that," Aizawa said in only half-feigned amazement. "So there's not only Abhashi but you too?"

"Abhashi?" Abe cut in. "Who's that?"

"It's what we call you and Mihashi," Hanai replied, "Because you two are always together it's like your one person."

"Oh," Abe said flatly. It made sense, but he wasn't sure how he felt about the battery's new nickname. "But I didn't know you were –"

"He's not gay," Shinooka cut in.

"Can you be sure?" Izumi joshed.

"Yep," Shinooka replied nonchalantly. "We're dating."

All of the little side conversations that had been going on suddenly stopped. The only noise came from the machines next to Abe's bed. After a few moments of the strange silence a certain third baseman blasted out an unholy cry of "bullshit!" that more than likely woke a few people up from their comas. "When did this start?"

"Today…ish…" Hanai murmured awkwardly.

Izumi snickered. "Hanai you never told us you liked Shinooka-chan."

"Why didn't you tell us?" Mizutani, Tajima, and Sakaeguchi asked in unison.

"Because you," Hanai replied pointing at Tajima, "have a voice that could wake up the dead. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised to hear of a zombie invasion after this."

Abe, glad to see that the group was doing much better than his fears lead him to believe, decided to come to Hanai's aid. "Aren't you supposed to get together _before_ Valentine's Day? I mean, it is a pretty big event day for couples."

"So whatchya trying to say, Abe?" Nishihiro asked. "Are you saying you had an eventful Valentine's Day with Mihashi?"

Shit. The whole double edge sword thing. Maybe he could throw Nishihiro off with a little bluff. "Are you saying that you want a play-by-play of what Mihashi and I, two guys, did on Saturday?"

"No, I…er…" Nishihiro murmured.

Instead Izumi picked up the torch and called Abe out on his bluff. "Sure. Enlighten us to your…conquests, Abe."

The catcher's face burned. He hadn't really done anything worth blushing over, but Abe still didn't want to expose what really was one of the best five nights of his life. What couples did in their private life was, after all, private. Instead Mihashi came to his boyfriend's rescue. "S-same to you, Izumi-kun. T-tell us wh-what you did on s-Saturday."

At this both Aizawa and Izumi blushed. "Touché," Izumi replied faintly.

"Anyway," Oki cut in, "if we want our catcher back in good shape I think we should let him recover. Besides, I think the nurses are getting a little annoyed with how loud _some_ of us," he paused for a moment to stare intently at Tajima, "are." Assent quickly passed around the group and they said their goodbyes as they filed out.

Only Mihashi stayed behind to talk to the catcher. He had been quiet when the group came in, but that wasn't necessarily odd for the pitcher. Actually it would have been weirder if Mihashi was talkative and lively.

"Hey," Abe offered taking Mihashi's silence in stride. "Thanks for visiting today." Abe paused, waiting for Mihashi's reply. Getting only silence in return the catcher continued to ramble on. "And last night as well. I guess my mom talked to your mom and now she knows everything." Again Abe waited for his boyfriend to say something before curbing the silence with a small half-hearted laugh. "I was so scared she would flip out too."

Mihashi's brilliant eyes traveled up and down the catcher before moving over to the medical equipment. "Wh-why did you g-go to th-the baseball field, Abe?" Mihashi asked. "W-wasn't it c-cold out?"

"Ha ha, yeah. It was freezing. I felt like an icicle," Abe replied trying to lighten the mood with chuckle.

"Wh-why didn't you c-come to my house," Mihashi snapped. "Y-you would've b-been safe, been wa-warm."

Abe was silent for a moment, taken aback at the very uncharacteristically angry pitcher. Was that why Mihashi was so upset? He thought about lying to the pitcher, but he couldn't bring himself lie to Mihashi. "I thought about it. But I couldn't do that to your family. What would they have said if I showed up all beat up and covered in blood?"

Mihashi's eyes started to tear up which surprised Abe; not for the fact that Mihashi was about to cry but because it took so long to happen. "I l-love you, Abe-kun. M-more than baseball and eating c-combined."

"Mihashi I –"

"And so d-do my pa-parents," Mihashi finished. He was breathing heavy now, and had a thin stream of tears sliding down his cheeks. "We l-love you and want to h-help you, Abe."

"It's more than I deserve sometimes," Abe jested. "But I'm glad I've got someone like you to rely on, Mihashi."

The pitcher dabbed at his eyes erasing the small streams his tears had left. "Th-then why d-don't you re-rely on me more?"

"I don't want you to worry 'bout me."

"I _want_ to w-worry about you," Mihashi countered angrily. "Y-you're my b-boyfriend and I love y-you."

Finally it hit the catcher that Mihashi really was angry. But why? What would Mihashi have to be angry at? "Mihashi, what's wrong? Why are you so mad?"

"Why didn't y-you come to m-my house?" Mihashi pleaded.

"Because I don't want you to worry about my little problems," Abe tried to explain, "They're not worth it."

"Abe, y-you keep th-thinking about y-yourself; b-but what about…about me."

Mihashi wasn't a genius, but he was not an idiot either. "All I do is think about you," Abe offered softly. He looked into the pitcher's deep eyes hoping to find his own clarity in their depths. But the big bright eyes that Abe was so fond of falling into hard and fierce, as if iced over. Abe could tell what these eyes meant. He had hurt Mihashi, and the pitcher was trying not to let Abe know. "About how I keep hurting you and making you worry; about how I can make your life better, happier."

Mihashi's whole body suddenly went rigid. For a long second the smaller teen was a statue cast with an unrecognizable and unreadable expression Abe had never seen chiseled on his face. Abe made a move to reach out to his boyfriend, to comfort the pitcher in some way. But before he could comfort Mihashi the pitcher began to shake and breathe heavily. Abe's steely eyes watched in fright as the pitcher slowly stood, calmed himself down, and silently walked out of the room.

**So, what didja think? I couldn't help tying together Hanai and Shinooka. Something about the cool baseball team captain and the cute manager seemed too good to resist (in a hyper-stereotypical shoujo manga kinda way). So sorry to all of you HanxTaj fans out there, for now? Anyway, let me know what you think. I really must thank xXYukishiroXx for her rather comprehensive review of my work (love the loooong review, I really do) that gave me a few ideas and for all those people who kept reviewing. I'll try to update again soon (few months?) but I've got a few other projects that I'm working on. If anyone's interested in reading them and letting me know what you think please e-mail me at , I'd love the feedback.**


	9. Chapter 9

**How is everyone? Sorry for the delayed chapter release. I've been working on a few other short stories, though unfortunately nothing in the oofuri world. Please let me know what you think of the chapter.**

**~ebob**

**Chapter 09**

Abe left the confines of the hospital that evening completely befuddled by Mihashi. The catcher dissected and reassembled his conversation with the pitcher hundreds of times since Mihashi left, and each time the sum of the parts did not equal the outcome. Abe had woken up. Next he had a talk with his mom. Later came an uplifting visit by the baseball team et al, who was all in good spirits and during which Mihashi was pretty quiet. Then everyone left and Mihashi stayed. They talked and then Mihashi suddenly flipped out. The two had gotten into a small argument, and then the pitcher left. But why?

This question ran rampant through Abe's head. He had no memory of his discharge from the hospital, of the drive home, or the feelings that otherwise would have overwhelmed him when he walked unsteadily past the remnants of the coffee table Abe that haunted the catcher's past. It was a tiring subject for the catcher and he resigned himself to flood his mind with other troubles. Shun had greeted his brother with the present the catcher's mobile phone, and Abe took on the task in checking his mail as a distraction from the problem of Mihashi. There was nothing new on his mobile, and in want of another distraction checked his facebook and e-mail. Already at the top of his wall were posts from Hanai and Sakaeguchi, Aizawa and Hamada, Suyama and Mizutani and the others telling Abe to _get better soon_. Tajima in particular posted a long promise to wrap all of the furniture in the Abe household in spare futons and blankets and towels, for the catcher's sake. These posts lead to questions from those creeping on Abe's wall. Abe smiled at his friends' proactive attempt at propaganda.

Mihashi was online when Abe logged on, but signed off moments after Abe signed on. Abe, shaken by the pitcher's actions, took care of the new notifications and updated his status. _Abe = 0, Dresser-thing = 1,_ Abe wrote half-lying.

Abe soon signed off and given the late hour went to bed. His mom made it perfectly clear that he was not going to school the next day. She had the day off but told the catcher that she would be out most of the day running errands and getting the divorce proceedings in order. Takaya didn't complain, but while he was laying in bed waiting for sleep to overtake him Abe wondered what he would do if his father showed up at home tomorrow.

The next morning, despite being a Monday, Abe slept in until 11. It was nice not having to go to school, especially when he was so worn out. His mother was gone when the catcher carefully descended that stairs one at a time, making sure of his footing least he slip and actually fall into the armoire that faced the stairs. When he made it to the bottom Abe caught a glance of himself in the glass' reflection. He hadn't noticed when he was in the bathroom a minute ago, deciding instead to shield himself from his new perforated look, but all in all Abe thought that he bore the brunt of what happened rather well. Sure he had several cuts on his face two of which, one being a thin streak along his cheek under his left eye and the other an angry red gash, were neatly stitched. But all in all the marks looked far better than how they made Abe feel. With any luck, something that the raven haired catcher felt he was sorely lacking, his face might just heal up fairly quickly.

His hopes were very lackluster for the rest of his wounds, however. Under his old Softbank Hawks t-shirt Abe was sporting a number of angry red slashes neatly stitched up with the same synthetic black thread as the two on his face. Abe's forearms, exposed to the world and which had taken the brunt of the glass, were even worse. Both arms were patterned with cuts of varying length; the crowning achievement of which was his left arm that had a nearly foot long cut carved from the heel of his hand and up the underside of his forearm.

However the bruising was a different story in its own. Abe had a big, puffy black eye from where his father had struck him, his chest was essentially one large sickly black and yellow bruise, and his arms were even worse; the numerous cuts meandering over and around a pair of large, shiny violent violet lumps bulging out like grotesquely misshapen muscles.

Abe shuddered at his reflection. No matter how tough the cuts and bruises made him look they were still hideous. Was that possibly why Mihashi was so upset yesterday? Then again the pitcher was never that shallow. It would be really unlikely that he would be pissed at Abe because of Abe's unsightly scars. There had to be something else.

Noon rolled around to find a very bored catcher. Part of him hoped that Mihashi would stop by to check on the catcher. A second and much larger part of the catcher didn't want to be alone with the pitcher and wanted the rest of the team to come too. So it was on this second feeling that the raven haired teen dwelled as noon passed by into a three o'clock that steadily became more and more lonely.

Finally the drag of a boring day was interrupted by his mother who had come home from her errands. She had a large smile glued to her face and walked with an air of self-accomplishment. Takaya didn't say anything as she walked past, her arms full of groceries, and waited for her to reveal the source her good humor. But the elder Abe didn't say a word as she walked by. Instead she called out from the kitchen once out of sight. "Just bring those in here."

Takaya looked around. He wasn't holding anything and therefore had no idea what she was talking about. The catcher was about to get up when a familiar looking boy walked past the threshold of the living room. "Ok," he called out in response.

The midnight haired catcher was surprised to see the impish face of his backup catcher and third baseman extraordinaire. "Tajima!" Takaya said with a start.

However the sporadic third baseman paid the catcher little heed. Instead he turned behind him and ejaculated in his usual fashion, "Come on, Hama-chan!"

"Hama-chan?" Takaya questioned aloud. His question was answered when Hamada, his arms full of grocery bags, followed Tajima into the kitchen. Very painfully Takaya got up from the couch.

Making his way into the kitchen he found Tajima and Hamada talking idly while his mother put the groceries away. His mother saw him first and called out to the catcher. "Takaya you're awake. How are you feeling?"

"Fine," Takaya replied before turning his attention to his two friends. "Hey guys, what are you two doing here?"

"They were walking up when I pulled in," his mom explained before the two teens could.

"Oh," Takaya said simply not knowing what else to say. He was happy that the two came to visit him and wondered how many more were en route.

"We'll see you later Abe-san," Tajima said quickly ushering Takaya and Hamada out of the kitchen. "Come on Abe, we gotta talk to ya."

The catcher glanced from one of his friends to the other as they headed for the stairs. When the trio were safely in the catcher's room the two guests sat themselves down on the catcher's bed leaving Abe standing in the doorway. "Take a seat, Abe," Hamada offered to the catcher.

Abe was taken aback at being told to sit in his own room but didn't say anything. Instead he spun his desk chair around and sat facing his two friends. "So what's up?" he asked them.

"Two things," Hamada replied. "First off is Mihashi."

"What about him?" Abe asked cautiously. He still remembered the way the pitcher had uncharacteristically exploded in fury yesterday and wasn't sure how far the effects might extend to.

Hamada and Tajima exchanged weighted glances. "He was acting…weird at school today," Tajima explained.

"What do you mean by weird?" Abe asked. "He's always weird."

"He answered questions today," Hamada continued.

"So?"

Again Hamada and Tajima looked at each other, worriedly this time. "Correctly," Tajima explained.

For a brief moment Abe's eyes bugged. "Oh," he sighed. That indeed was very strange for the already strange pitcher.

"And that's not all," Tajima continued excitedly. "Today at lunch he forgot his bento."

Abe whipped his mobile out of the pocket of his sweats and was about to speed dial Mihashi's number. "Whoa, hold on Abe," Hamada cautioned. "That's why we're here. He wouldn't tell us what's up so we thought maybe you'd know."

"Me?" Abe asked. "How would I know? I've been here all day and Mihashi never sent me a mail or anything." Then after a moment's pause he added, "Maybe he's just stressed over what's happened, I know I am and he's not one to vent very well."

Both Tajima and Hamada were silent as they mulled over the possibility. It did seem likely that Mihashi was stressed, and it was possible that he was taking what had happened to Abe personally. "Just like middle school," Hamada said pensively, "Mihashi thought that he deserved the bullying he got because he wouldn't leave the mound. Maybe he's feeling like this too is his fault."

Before Abe could agree Tajima dissented. "I'm tellin' ya, Hama-chan, that's not the case. I think it's something else altogether."

Hamada was about to argue but Abe cut him off. Hamada had a valid point, but Abe, for once, wanted to hear what Tajima had to say. "Like what?"

"I don't know," the third baseman admitted. "But, but…there has to be something else. Did he say anything to you when you two were alone yesterday?"

Abe took a second to think back to their conversation. "No, not really. We talked for a few minutes about what happened, then he blew up at me and left."

"What was he so mad 'bout?" Questioned Tajima.

"That's what I want to know. He hasn't told me anything."

"So are you to blame?" Hamada asked.

"I think so," Abe answered. "But I don't know why."

"What did he say before he left?"

"Something about how I only think about myself, which is crazy because I can't stop myself from thinking about _him_; especially now."

"Maybe we're not the best ones for this," Tajima remarked to Hamada. "I've got no clue what to do."

"Me neither," Hamada pouted.

"And Mihashi didn't say anything to you guys?"

"Nope," replied Tajima.

"Nothin'" added Hamada.

Abe cussed. "Do me a favor and ask Mihashi what's bothering him; and see if anyone else knows anything about it. Will you?"

"Sure," Hamada and Tajima said in unison.

Abe thanked his two friends which killed the conversation. He sat staring at the two on his bed, remembering how they not only invited themselves into the catcher's room and sat on his bed but told him to take a seat on his own desk chair in his own room. Then Abe remembered another thing. "You said there were two things you wanted to talk to me about," he mentioned breaking the silence.

Tajima's eyes sparked with life. "O yeah," he started, "we're a couple now."

"Who?" Abe asked with an incredulous voice.

The third baseman blinked. "We are," he said plainly gesturing to himself and Hamada.

The catcher was struck blunt. "You two?" Abe asked again, still in disbelief.

"Yep," Hamada replied.

"Really?"

"Yep," Tajima echoed.

"Hamada, aren't you going out with that girl from the cheer team? What's her name…Fuji-something?"

"Nope," Hamada replied before adding, "we broke up just after Christmas." That still didn't really answer Abe's true question. He sat there blinking and looking dumbfounded at the couple on his bed. Hamada, after a long pause, caught the catcher's implied question and answered it with a simple "I'm bi."

"Oh," Abe replied unsure of how to react. He thought about what Hamada had told him and what it meant for Abe. First and foremost he was happy that Tajima had found someone. He felt bad about telling the spunky third baseman off and nearly always had the third baseman's feelings in mind, which is why he tried as much as possible to refrain from showing his affection for Mihashi when the group was together. But there was a liking Abe felt towards Hamada, like something finally made sense. Hearing Hamada admit that he was bi totally took the catcher by surprise, but the prospect of being bi seemed more legitimate than he had originally thought. Abe himself had always liked girls and thought they were cute. But when it came to Mihashi things were just… somehow different. It made Abe question his own sexuality. Was he really gay? Maybe he too was bi. There weren't really any other guys that appealed to him. Hanai did a little bit, but that was about it. Maybe Abe was, like Hamada, bisexual and like Hamada happened to have a boyfriend instead of a girlfriend.

Either way it didn't matter. "Well congrats guys, I'm happy for you. How long have you two been going out?"

"About a week," Hamada replied.

"Have you told anyone else?"

"Nope," said Tajima, "You're the first."

"Was it a surprise?"

"I knew you were gay Tajima," Abe answered. "But Hamada you I had no idea."

A smile appeared on the cheer captain's face. "Me neither." Abe looked at Hamada questioningly which beckoned him to continue. "We've been hanging out a lot over the past few weeks. Then one day we were alone in my room and just ended up kissing and now we're dating."

"You're the first one we've told," Tajima repeated proudly.

"Cool," Abe replied unsure of what to do with that bit of news. However his remark killed the conversation once again. It was great that he was the first to be told about the new couple, but Abe was more interested in their intelligence about Mihashi. Something had to be seriously disturbing the pitcher in order for him to do something like forget his lunch.

"We were wondering," Hamada said tentatively after a minute's pause.

Abe looked up at smiled at his friends. "Sure."

Hamada took a slow breath before continuing. "What kind of stuff you and Mihashi did on dates."

"Oh," Abe replied a little taken aback. "Um, normally we just hang out at one of our houses or run errands or something like that. Our first really romantic date was Saturday night for Valentines."

"Really?" Tajima asked.

"Yeah," confirmed Abe. "Mostly we'll make dinner then watch a movie or play video games or something."

"Do you ever, you know, do other stuff?" Hamada asked.

Instantly Abe knew exactly what the cheer captain was trying to get at but decided to interpret it a different way. "Sometimes we'll go out to a movie or something but when we're in public we hardly ever hold hands or anything."

"But isn't it hard to do stuff with your parents around?" Hamada continued making his implications a bit more clear.

Abe shifted uncomfortably. This would be a bit harder to dodge. "Not really. When one of us leaves we usually kiss in private, then act normal in front of our parents."

"What about sex?" Tajima inquired with the grace of a crippled hippo. "Who's top and who's bottom?"

The catcher, although expecting something like this to come from Tajima, was still visibly shocked to hear it put so bluntly. So it took him a moment to restrain his urge to smack the third baseman, which Hamada took care of for Abe, and recompose himself. In that moment Abe took some time to think. Saying that he and Mihashi had yet to have sex would be the truth, but it would probably lead to a good degree of ribbing from the other two in the room. However, telling the truth would be much easier than lying about it since by telling the truth Abe could end the whole conversation right there, or at the very least would not have to make up any weird details. So he, albeit painfully, went with the truth. "We, ah…we actually haven't had sex yet."

Much to Abe's horror Tajima seized upon this and ran. "What!" he ejaculated, "You two've been going out for like a year and a half already. How can you not have –"

But the smallest teen was cut off by a combination of Hamada smacking Tajima across the back of the head and Abe pelting the third baseman with a much overused stress ball.

Tajima, who had ducked for cover and curled into a ball at the first sign of danger, uncurled himself. "What? It was a simple question; you didn't have to hit me."

Abe, his cheeks flushed red, gave Tajima a death-glare before turning to Hamada. "If you do one thing with this kid, I hope you'll teach him some manners or tact or something."

"Maybe I can pound it into him," Hamada replied with a sly smile.

"You should try a shock collar. I bet it'll work," Abe suggested only half in jest.

"I'll keep that in mind," Hamada replied, "but anyway, he does bring up a good point."

"What?" Abe asked sternly, his eyes searching his desk for another suitable projectile.

Hamada held his hands up in defense. "Well just think about it. You keep telling Mihashi that you love him, but have you ever _shown_ your love to him?"

The way Hamada made sense made Abe weary. Saturday night had been probably the best night of his life. Maybe if he and Mihashi brought their relationship to the next level something might work itself out. The trouble was that Mihashi was pissed at Abe now, and trying to convince the pitcher to get into bed with him would be nearly impossible with him that upset.

"Yeah it made us close," Tajima added.

This again caught Abe by surprise. "You mean you two…"

"Yep," they confirmed in unison with Tajima adding, "three or four times."

Before he could stop himself Abe briefly imagined what he considered a probably scene with the bigger more mature Hamada dominating a writhing Tajima. As quickly as he could Abe cleared his mind of the image, but what he had seen couldn't be unimagined causing the catcher to be unable to look at his two friends the same way he had before.

"That's a great idea and all," Abe consented, "But if Mihashi won't even talk to me then how can we, can we…" But Abe couldn't bring himself to finish the sentence, not in front of other people. Instead he just smiled bashfully and looked away.

The trio fell into contemplative silence before Tajima came up with his great idea. "You could always surprise him."

Both Abe and Hamada were too shocked to do much more than stare. After a moment's passing the cheer captain regained himself enough to speak. "You mean surprise sex?" Hamada clarified.

"Yeah," Tajima replied, "he likes surprises and this'll help you guys."

"Tajima," Hamada began slowly, "That's called rape; and it's usually a bad thing."

"Oh, then never mind," Tajima said as if his suggestion that Abe more or less rape Mihashi wasn't a big deal at all.

It took some time for Abe to return to his senses. How could Tajima be this dumb yet still be alive? It was like he lacked everything necessary for a civilized human to live in society. "Hamada are you sure you want to date this guy?" Abe asked. "I've seen smarter rocks."

Hamada grinned a big toothy smile. "Tajima might be an idiot, but he's good in bed."

Again Abe grimaced at the image his mind painted. "That's great an all, but not only does it not help me out but I think I might be scarred for life."

An alarm went off on Hamada's phone causing him to curse. "Abe I gotta head out. I'm glad to see that you're feeling better. If you need ne thing just let me know." Tajima echoed his boyfriend's sentiments and the two left the catcher with much to think about. Mihashi had accused Abe of not thinking of the pitcher's feelings. Yet that was all the catcher thought about. There had to be something else that was making Mihashi mad.

By the time first hour was out of the way the following day at school word had already spread around all those who cared about Abe's "accident". The baseball team of course helped spread the story and throughout the day Abe was made the butt of a few jokes but by and by could not have wished for things to go any better.

The jokes continued as the day progressed only to be told directly to the catcher himself. Suyama and Mizutani had been the first two to use their barbed tongues in order to propagate the propaganda. As the morning evolved word soon spread about Abe's "accident" and nobody had any idea to differ.

Lunch was a critical time for Abe. The moment the bell rang releasing the throngs of students the catcher darted to Mihashi's classroom weaving by the crowds pouring into the hall. Despite his rush by the time Abe managed to make it to the pitcher's classroom most of the students had already disseminated into the hallway with no sign of Mihashi amongst them. Abe's head snapped back and forth, up and down as he tried to peer past his peers and find his honey haired boyfriend. When Abe saw Tajima and the two locked eyes the third baseman morosely shook his head and pointed off down the hall.

Abe rounded a corner and then another. His head was constantly on a swivel searching for the well known figure he loved. He desperately wanted to, needed to talk to the pitcher. But first Abe had to find him.

Since Tajima had pointed away from the cafeteria the raven haired catcher knew something was up, something important enough to make Mihashi miss lunch. Abe rounded the corner at the end of the hall at a sprint. The hallway lead to the home economics rooms and was a both a dead end and dead empty. Slowing to a walk the raven haired catcher tried to think of where his boyfriend might be.

A soft lyrical giggle floated in through the open classroom doors at the end of the hall. It was as beautiful as it was nervous. "Mihashi, you don't have to be so nervous. I just want to ask you something real quick."

Shit was going down. A girl with a really cute voice was not only going to ask Mihashi something, but she was going to do it during lunch in an out of the way part of the school. Abe sprinted through the door for a better look. Mihashi and a girl Abe didn't know were standing closer than he would have liked under a very shaded and very secluded overhang. Abe dropped to the ground when he saw the two through the open window and with his best slide made it to the wall under the windows.

"Wh…what is it?" Mihashi asked his nerves cracking his voice.

"I, I just want to ask you if…um…"

Abe wanted to scream at the girl. He could read the mood of the situation and knew exactly what she was going to ask. What Abe was unsure of was what Mihashi's response would be. The batter was pretty battered at the moment. And while Abe knew that he definitely loved Mihashi nothing said that the pitcher's feelings had not changed at all. In fact to the raven haired catcher it would be more surprising if Mihashi still had feelings for the catcher after what he had put the pitcher through.

"Um…I…" the still unknown girl hesitated in her musical voice. "I like you!"

Something wet dripped onto the back of Abe's hand. It took the catcher a moment and a few more drops to realize that the water was coming from his chin. Soundlessly the raven haired teen traced two damp trails up his cheeks to the corner of his eyes. Abe was crying. He wasn't sure why exactly. Nothing had actually happened. Yet. Or had it? Abe could hear nothing coming from the window above him. Seconds ticked by with the steady pace of a glacier.

Mihashi remained silent. Abe wondered what the pitcher was doing. Here was a girl, a cute girl, confessing to him and telling the pitcher that she liked him. This right here was the stuff classic high school romances were made of. What kind of fifteen year old high schooler would say nothing after being confessed to like that? The mood was right. The scenery was perfect. There was nobody that would get in the way.

And still Mihashi was painfully silent.

"Mihahi…kun?" The girl asked. Abe could hear the uncertainty painting her voice into a fearful melody.

"I-I'm sorry, s-Sawako-chan. But th-there's already s-someone that I…um…"

"Oh," the girl said. Abe relished at hearing the defeat in her voice. "You already have a…What's her name? Does she go to this school?"

It was great that Mihashi turned the girl down. But something didn't feel quite right. Why didn't the girl sound as sad as she should? Abe had seen plenty of confessions, even been on the receiving end of a few. But when a girl gets rejected more often than not she cries. The few times the girl doesn't cry it's obvious in her voice that she's trying to save face. At least that's how it goes with all of the serious confessions. Hell Abe had even seen a few guys cry when they get rejected; he was all too familiar with what rampaging teenage hormones could do to a person guy or girl. So why didn't this Sawako person sound sad?

From where he was hiding Abe could hear Mihashi's loud breathing. "N-no, she doesn't," Mihashi said answering the later question before the former. "She g-goes to my, my old school Mi-Mihoshi. Her n-name, her name is…Ruri."

**Sorry to kind of cut it off there. I know I always say this but there's more to come.**

**~ebob**


	10. Chapter 10

**So yeah…my bad for taking so long. Anyhow, enjoy.**

**~ebob**

**Chapter 10**

Now even Mihashi sounded strange. He was talking slower than normal, even for Mihashi. And what was he saying? Abe had a pretty good idea of why he dropped Ruri's name. There really wasn't a better alibi then dropping a cousin's name. Especially when she could be validated by so many other people, granted all of which were on the baseball team. It made sense for Mihashi to mention his cousin. But was it really necessary?

Couldn't Mihashi have simply said that he had feelings for someone else and left it at that? Did he have to bring Ruri into the picture? Guys have unrequited love all the time. It was a more than suitable reason for not returning someone else's feelings. Hell, Abe had heard that very excuse from Matsuhara, the captain of the men's volleyball club, only a few days before Valentine's Day. It didn't matter that he was talking to one of his friends in a louder-than-necessary voice so that the girls around him would hear. Since it worked for Matsuhara, surely it would've worked for Mihashi.

Then again it would've been better if he and Mihashi could just tell people about their relationship. Then all of the lying and half-truths would be unnecessary.

When Takaya realized he was starting to get jealous of Ruri for, well Abe didn't exactly know what he decided he had had enough. The catcher rolled over onto his stomach intending to crawl towards the door. Only when he felt the incessant rupture of pain did he remember his injuries. The window was too low for the catcher to move away from without crawling, which meant that he was stuck listening to his boyfriend politely turn down another girl.

By the way the two were talking Abe thought he would definitely be stuck in the home economics classroom until lunch was over. However even the catcher could hear the loud howl that erupted from Mihashi's stomach. "S-sorry," Mihashi apologized.

"He he," the girl giggled angelically. "You really do like to eat, don't you Mihashi-kun?"

Abe heard the pair's conversation about food start to fade off. When he could no longer hear them the catcher rose to his feet. On his way back to his own classroom Abe was keenly aware of his own hunger. The prospect of his bento and a few aspirin waiting for him in his classroom hastened his trek back.

Shinooka was sitting in Abe's seat talking to Hanai when the catcher returned. When she saw Abe the team manager and the captain gave the catcher a warm smile. Shinooka stood to give Abe his seat back but he motioned her to sit back down and instead took an open seat in the desk behind the couple. "Did you find Mihashi?" Shinooka asked.

The catcher's eyes darted up in surprise before jetting from side to side to make sure no one else was listening. When he saw that nobody was paying them any attention he continued. "How did you…" He started with.

"Where else would you go? You're stuff was here and you weren't," she replied.

Despite himself Abe let out a chuckle. "Kinda." Hanai and Shinooka's glances asked what their mouths did not. "When I found him he was busy turning down a confession."

"Oh."

"From who?" Hanai asked.

Abe shrugged. "I don't know who she was. Some girl from his class, I think he called her Sadako or Samako or something."

"Sawako-chan?" Shinooka asked.

"Yeah, that's it," Abe consented uncomfortably. He would have preferred if the girl had remained unnamed.

"Wow, what did he say?" Shinooka asked.

Nonchalantly Abe replied, "He said he's going out with a girl from Mihoshi named Ruri."

"Ruri?" Hanai clarified.

"Yep."

"From Mihoshi?"

"Yep."

"You mean…?"

"Yep."

"Oh," the manager gasped. "That's a good move, especially coming from Mihashi."

Before he could catch himself Abe unleashed his tirade. "It would've been better if Mihashi had just said he liked someone else. Why did he have to say his _cousin_ of all people?" By now the catcher's words were coming out as little more than hisses. "Couldn't he have just said he had an unrequited love? Girls buy that stuff, right?"

The look that Hanai and Shinooka shared only added to anger that was surprising Abe. "No, Abe, they don't." Hanai answered cautiously.

"Yeah they do, don't they Shinooka?"

"Nope," the manager replied. "If anything it just gives us hope that maybe if we're constantly around then when the guy gives up then he'll move on to us."

"But he…what if he said, I mean…" Abe spluttered but broke off when he saw that again Hanai and Shinooka were giving each other knowing looks. "Stop that, it's annoying."

A devilish grin Abe thought was only capable by a certain third baseman emerged on Hanai's face. "Wow Abe; just…wow."

"I can't believe it. Out of all people…"

Abe waited for either one of the two to finish their sentences. Finally after a painful moment of waiting he took the bait and asked, "What?"

"I didn't think you were the jealous type."

"Me neither," Hanai concurred. "And of all people to be jealous over…"

"I can't believe it," Shinooka piled on.

Blood started to rush to Abe's cheeks. "What? I don't want that Sawako girl to have Mihashi. What's wrong with that?"

"You're not jealous of Sawako-chan," Hanai started.

"What?" Abe demanded.

"You're jealous of Ruri," Shinooka finished.

"What? No I'm not."

"Wanna bet?" Hanai asked.

Abe turned to stare directly in to Hanai's eyes paralyzing the right fielder. "Why the hell would I be jealous of Mihashi's cousin?"

"Because he used her name instead of yours," Shinooka answered for her boyfriend.

The catcher's midnight hair was perfectly contrasted by his blanching face. "I…" he started. "No…, I mean…"

The smug smile Hanai wore was starting to piss Abe off. "Just admit it Abe. Admitting it is always the first step."

"Fine…" Abe sighed. "Yeah I'm jealous, but so what? Aren't I allowed to be?"

"Of course you are," Shinooka consented. "Being jealous makes the other person feel wanted; needed. How do you think Mihashi would feel if you didn't care what he did?"

"Probably not too different than how he already feels about me," the catcher muttered.

"Bull shit," Hanai replied offhand.

"Hanai, either stop pissing me off or shut the hell up. 'k?" Abe snapped.

The right fielder's grin turned even more mischievous. "Oh? And what'll you do if I don't?"

"Man Hanai I'm not joking. I'm really pissed off right now and I don't want to deal with any bullshit right now."

Shinooka smacked her boyfriend across the back of his head. "You're gonna make Abe cry," she scolded, "stop it."

Abe gave the manager a glare. He wasn't sure if she was helping his case or subtly teasing him.

"Fine," the captain grunted. "You want some advice? Then ask yourself this," Hanai grabbed Abe's shirt and pulled him in close. "Why is Mihashi mad?"

"If I knew that –" Abe started.

"_Think_ about it for a second. Why is Mihashi _mad_? Why isn't he scared or sorry?"

This did make Abe think, but he still couldn't wrap his mind around what the captain was getting at. "What do you mean?"

"When have you ever seen Mihashi mad? Remember last summer, when we played Mihoshi? Was he mad at his former teammates for what they did to him?" Hanai paused for a second to let what he was saying sink in. "Hell, have you _ever_ seen Mihashi get mad at someone else?" Hanai hissed.

After another pregnant pause Abe had the only answer he could give. "…no…" he whispered.

"So don't you think it's something special when Mihashi gets mad? Maybe you're so special to him that he _can_ get mad at you without thinking that you'll hate him?"

Hanai did have a point. He never had actually seen Mihashi get mad at anyone but himself. Even in their early days when Mihashi was still his awkward, fearful old self he still never got mad at anyone else. He always saw everything as his fault. Whenever the pitcher got hit it he never saw it as because of the flaws in Abe's game calling, but it was always because Mihashi didn't think he was good enough.

In that moment the light bulb clicked and the jubilation lit up the catcher's face. "Thanks a ton, Shinooka. You too Hanai. I'm so happy I could kiss you; but I think Shinooka would get mad."

"Are you kidding," Shinooka said, "that'd be pretty hot. Kiss away."

Abe eyed his teammate as seriously as he could manage. If he didn't have Mihashi then the catcher could seriously consider going through and kissing the baseball captain. But despite his circumstances Abe still had his albeit strained relationship with the pitcher. "I'll pass, I don't know where that mouth has been," Abe said consoling a scared looking Hanai, "but you should really see your face Hanai. You're cute when you're scared."

And just like that Abe's mood was buoyed up. The mood swing was dramatic enough for some of his classmates to notice and even comment to the catcher about it. Abe brushed off their comments with a grin and a shake of his head. They could never understand.

For the rest of the school day Abe could hardly hold himself back from singing. It was true that Mihashi still wasn't talking to him. The catcher had tried to stop by the pitcher's class but he was always conveniently gone to the bathroom or making a quick stop at his locker. But the stormy clouds didn't matter. Abe was singing in the rain.

When the end of the day came Takaya had no clue what to do. The rest of the team would be doing a workout in the gym. But since Abe was on the injured reserved he couldn't join in. So when the team gathered in the auxiliary gym the catcher sat down with his backpack and a stack of homework.

Since he was still in school mode Abe managed to work through a few geometry problems from the work he had missed. But math was, well, math. Soon enough he felt his eyes wandering from his work. The rest of the team was doing sprints back and forth across the floor. Mihashi was there as well running with the rest of the team. Abe had made no effort to approach the pitcher. It would be a cheap shot cornering Mihashi at a time like this. And besides, Abe wasn't ready yet. He still didn't exactly know why Mihashi was so mad. Takaya didn't want to jump the gun too soon for fear that they might get worse.

The only warning Abe had was the flash of a shadow. "You didn't talk to him." Coach Momoe was standing over the catcher. Her face had the same scary intensity as it always did which made it all the more unreadable. "Even though he's been avoiding you."

Abe stared at the coach in silence for a very long moment. He was about to ask how the hell she knew that given the fact that she wasn't around during the day but decided against it. He knew all too well that prying into the coach's mind was like taking a lackadaisical morning stroll through a minefield.

"You want to know how I know that," she said breaking the silence. Then with a half smile she added, "I can read minds."

Despite his natural reflex Abe was able to keep his face from showing any emotion. "It crossed my mind. But if you're really a psychic then what number am I thinking of?"

"One."

Again Abe sat in silence. She had guessed right.

"That wasn't much of a challenge. It's his number so of course it would be the first thing you'd think of. Even _Tajima_ could've told you that."

It was true enough. "Well then if you're not a mind reader then how did you know he's been avoiding me or that I want to talk to him?"

Coach Momoe's smile grew and grew and grew into her creepy toothy grin that always meant Abe had stepped on a landmine. "Any intelligent coach would want to know when something happens to their players. That goes doubly so for the battery."

"Is that so?" Abe said cutting down to the chase. He was happy that she was concerned for him, but this was just starting to get ridiculous. It seemed like everyone on the team was going to have a little chat with the catcher and with the way things were going so far none of them would tell him why Mihashi was so mad. At least Hanai and Shinooka had been a big help while Tajima and Hamada's chat had been awkwardly informative. But coach Momoe? A talk with her would definitely not be as productive as his most recent had been; and if a chat with the coach even for the briefest of moments strayed down the same path as the one in his bedroom the day before then Takaya would rather stay silent.

And besides, she was blocking his view of his teammates. The sooner she moved out of his way the sooner he could get back to watching Mihashi. The last few times Abe had seen his friend was at moments that the catcher would rather forget. At least during practice Mihashi would smile and laugh with the rest of his teammates.

The coach's smile grew as she leaned closer causing Abe to reflexively back further into the wall. "I've got a spy who keeps me updated," she continued, "and while hearing about you two is better than watching any soap opera if it effects business then I have to step in."

"Business?" Abe questioned. "How would our personal lives affect your business?"

"Your relationship is the most crucial for the team. And if that goes sour it can dramatically affect your performance."

"Ok…and what do you want me to do about it? You said it yourself he's been avoiding me. How can I make up with him if he won't talk to me?" Even though Abe knew he was being a bit terse with the coach he had a point. If she was going to give him hell too then she could just save it. Abe really didn't want to hear it.

"That's your problem," she answered catching the catcher unprepared. "And good luck with that."

"So, what do you want from me?" Abe asked unsure of the coach's motives.

"I just want to tell you good luck and not to give up."

Takaya didn't really know what to say to the coach. And while he tried to think of a comeback or a question or something to break the silence he was beaten to the punch by Hanai letting her know that they were done with their sprints. Coach Momoe caught Abe's eye for a moment before she turned and walked out onto the gym floor.

"What was that about?" He murmured. Ok, he could see why she would have a vested interest in the battery's relationship. But it wasn't like her to say something overtly, even if it was just to wish him luck.

Abe's eyes went back to Mihashi. He was throwing with Tajima who had on a mask and catcher's mitt. Mihashi wore the meek expression he always wore when pitching. Despite how much Abe had tried to get Mihashi to change it the pitcher always reverted back to his default. At least, almost always. The pitcher still looked timid, but Abe knew from hours upon hours of examining everything about that face that Mihashi's expression was a bit different. His eyes looked like they were brighter than usual, like they had more feeling to them. Judging by the way Mihashi was pitching he was in top form too.

"How?" Abe asked to himself. How could it be possible that Mihashi was in top form? Didn't he feel even a little shaken up over what had happened? Why was Mihashi able to act like nothing had ever happened? It was making Abe's stomach churn.

After a few minutes of watching the pitcher, his pitcher, throw without a care in the world Abe's cool head began to boil. He gave up watching for fear he'd get really mad and do something stupid. He switched back to his backlog of geometry and other homework.

When practice ended that night Abe stayed back. He felt bad about being the first one to leave given the fact that he didn't do anything. To top it off he couldn't justify leaving with the team either. Part of that was because the majority of the team left as one big chunk with Mihashi among them, and since Abe was still a bit incensed about Mihashi's apparent lack of concern the catcher couldn't trust himself to not make things worse.

The other reason was because he needed to have a quick word with Hanai, who had had a quick meeting with the coach over practice strategy and was late going in to change. So Abe waited and ambushed the captain when he emerged from the locker room.

When the right fielder saw the catcher waiting his eyebrows furrowed in question but he didn't stop. "Why are you still here?"

"I need to talk to you real quick," Abe said as he fell in stride with the taller teen.

"No," Hanai replied, "you need to talk to Mihashi."

"It's about that." The captain turned his head a little but remained silent. Abe took his silent cue and got to the point. "I'd like to leave practice early tomorrow."

"Why?"

"I'm going to talk to Mihashi."

"He'll be at practice," Hanai pointed out. "You can talk to him after."

Abe smiled. "No, it wouldn't be right. I can't ambush him at practice."

"So do it during school."

"Can't. He'll just avoid me."

"So what's your plan?"

"Baseball is sacred and I won't bother him there. And if I can't talk to him at school, I'll just have to pay his house a visit."

This made Hanai stop. "You're really planning on ambushing him at home? Why?"

"Why else? He's gotta go home sometime."

"You sound like a stalker," Hanai muttered.

"I sound like a genius," Abe corrected.

"No, Abe, you sound like Tajima."

"You mean Nishihiro, don't you?"

"More like Mizutani."

"Um…" Abe had to think for a moment. The next on his list was Hanai, but the catcher couldn't say that. Then would probably be himself; again a no go. "Izumi? Mmm…no wait, I'll go with Suyama."

"Oh? Why not Izumi?"

"Because," Abe sighed, "I'm sure Aizawa's been rubbing off on him. I have a better chance with Suyama and Elizabeth."

By now the duo had emerged onto the snowy school grounds. The cold air nipped at the skin on Abe's face. It was a refreshing change from the overheated school hallways. But by the time he had left the school grounds Abe was wishing he had more than his light sweater and t-shirt under his coat.

"You never answered my question," Abe said after a minute of silence. "Will it be alright if I take off early from practice tomorrow?"

Hanai took two deep, audible breaths. Abe knew he was mulling over his answer so the catcher stayed silent. "Fine," said Hanai reluctantly, "go ahead."

Abe's face lit up against the cold. "Thanks a lot, Hanai."

"Just don't screw up."

"Don't worry, I won't. I think I have a plan."

"You think?"

"Well, yeah. I always have a plan."

"And what would this master plan be?" Hanai asked incredulously.

"I'll wing it," said Abe with a chuckle.

Hanai blanched. "What? Are you kidding? Abe you're just going to wing it?"

"Sounds about right."

"I never knew Mihashi had a thing for crazy guys. Then again I think it's more likely that he's just rubbing off on you."

"Oh, one more thing," Abe said cutting in. "Don't mention this to anyone. If someone asks tomorrow at practice just tell them I have an appointment."

One of Hanai's eyebrows shot up his forehead. "Who would I tell?" He asked.

"Shinooka."

"And what would be wrong with that? She's my girlfriend."

"True," Abe conceded, "but if you tell her it'll go straight to Tajima; and from there the whole world'll know about it before midnight."

"She wouldn't…"

"Really? Are you sure?"

"Fine, you're right. Not a word of this until after the fact."

**I apologize for not writing fast enough…I kinda spaced out for a little while there; the real life is really really hard. ANYWAY, enough bitching…I hoped you like this chapter. Please let me know what you think.**

**~ebob**


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